Oldham cafe makes 'ecstatic' announcement to expand

Bru'd Awakenin's in The Old Mill on Shepherd Street is a coffee shop and bar that is "anything but beige", with its stylish interior and artisan menu filled with locally sourced produce.

But since Shelby Bunn took the reigns and left her job as a cabin crew member to open the cafe in 2018, the last five years have been far from plain sailing.

Successive Covid lockdowns, a shortage in building supplies and the cost-of-living crisis slammed on the brakes of the cafe's launch, which Ms Bunn described as an "absolute nightmare" at the time.

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However, the cafe pulled together and reopened in May 2020.

It then completed its swanky refurbishment in summer that year, which inspired Ms Bunn to open up the cafe at night time with a new bar and cocktail menu, which was rolled out by Christmas 2021.

Ms Bunn said: "I felt there was a gap in the market for an intimate venue that offers sit-down table service."

Bru'd Awakenin's menu is all locally sourced and serves delectable cakes and sweet treats every day (Image: Newsquest, Olivia Bridge)

Still, even with the bar and its soaring reputation among locals, it was feared the cosy cafe would have no choice but to close due to profits being "eaten up" by bills - and the fact it had to turn customers away every day due to a lack of space.

Ms Bunn said the only way the business stood any chance of surviving was to expand into the unit next door and get "more bums on seats" and while she took on the lease for the unit, a lack of financial support coupled with increasing costs threatened the vision.

With nowhere else to turn, Ms Bunn launched a Crowdfunder with a fundraising target of £35,000 to renovate the unit and crucially provide the cafe with an extra 22 seats, doubling its capacity.

The new space will also provide a drinks station to serve drinks and food during the evenings.

Now, exactly two years to the date when Bru'd opened its bar, Ms Bunn said she had "good news" that customers "have all been waiting for" with the expansion plans on the cards for 2024.

It is hoped the expansion will provide an extra 22 seats for customers (Image: Newsquest, Bru'd Awakenin's)

Ms Bunn said: "It's been a rollercoaster year since we bit the bullet and launched our Crowdfunder to get us on the launch pad to start on our extension.

"We were so overwhelmed with everyone's support and generosity and it took a big chunk off a seemingly impossible target - so thank you everyone once again.

"We still have a long way to go to get everything to the Bru'd standard you all know and love and we slowly and steadily continued adding to the pot as and when we could."

The process has not been without hiccups, Ms Bunn said, as building regulations and "things going on at home" added to delays, but she said the team are "ecstatic" to announce it has secured some extra funding to the tune of £25,000 to help with the project.

She continued: "This means, you guessed it, Bru'd 2.0 is happening imminently!"

Ms Bunn said the team doesn't have "exact dates" yet but there are hopes that the work can begin early on in the new year.

She added: "We are planning works to cause minimal disruption so customers should all hopefully still be able to get their Bru'd fix.

"We've not wanted to say too much until everything was secured and signed but it's happening.

"Thank you from our Bru'd family and here's to a bigger and better 2024.

"Who's to know where the next two years will take us?"

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.