A MINEHEAD café venture which aimed to provide a special space geared to supporting parents and their young children will close down next month.

The Kidz Café in the Old Hospital, started 18 months ago by Minehead mother of two Kate Lynch, announced this week it would be closing its doors on October 18 for financial reasons.

“I wanted to be able to support families like myself, people at home with young children,” said Kate.

“It’s hard to take little children into cafés. I wanted to provide somewhere safe, where parents could relax and children could run around and play safely.

“It’s finance more than anything. It was very quiet over the summer, we tried to build it up since then but it’s been a real struggle and last week I felt enough was enough.

“It’s a shame, we have always had great feedback and been very popular with local people. We’ve had very loyal customers and made lots of friendships along the way.

“It’s been a success – but just not enough. It’s [a question of] getting it used by everyone, not just a few.”

Kate ran the business with three helpers, all good friends of hers – Sophie Reading, Michelle Ogden-Hobbs and Ashton McColl.

Full story in today’s Free Press.