"See you next week!" Bev said in reply to an elderly gentleman walking out the door.

"We've got regulars that come in, which is really nice."

The new manager at Fort Café, Bev Faulkner, used to work in the care sector - and it shows.

She also recently completed Hospiscare's 'Marathon in a Month' challenge, raising more than £600 for the charity.

A steep learning curve

She joined the café in June this year. Despite never having worked in hospitality before, she was made manager just three months later in September.

Bev said: "It's a massive change for me, to come into hospitality.

"I never realised there were so many different types of coffee! But it's been good, and I now feel fairly confident to teach other people the skill of coffee-making."

Taking care of younger staff members

Fort Café employs a lot of local youngsters, and using a gradual training checklist, Bev helps them progress at their own speed.

She said: "We've got a 15-year-old that ... has done a whole summer in the kiosk, and she's now said she wants to learn how to deal with customers inside the café.

"We're working through her taking orders, clearing tables promptly, delivering food, and then she'll be taught the coffee machine when she's ready. It's about when they're ready to do it."

Bev has also put together a new review program.

She added: "Every three months, [the staff] will sit down with me for 15 minutes and have a review of their skills and how they feel at work, what's important to them, where they want to develop.

"I want them all to feel, no matter what part they do in the café, they're all as important as the other person."

Reaching out to the community

Bev has plenty of ideas in the pipeline for connecting with the community and keeping the café open during the winter.

She said: "I've been in contact with ... the Admiral Nurse in Sidmouth, to see if we can develop a space where people feel safe if they've got dementia ... and have an afternoon a week, or afternoon a fortnight for carers of people with dementia.

"I've also been in contact with the running groups and walking groups. We've got plenty of outdoor space for walking boots and running shoes."

Bev is also planning to offer a space for breastfeeding mothers and the café's kiosk will be open on Boxing Day this year. The café has just started a community book swap, and has a range of board games and puzzles for people to try.

"If they don't want to be at home in the dark or the cold on their own, they can sit in here with a [board] game or a puzzle.

"I'd like to feel like all ages and all different types of people are welcome here.

"It's always in the back of my mind: how can I help somebody else?"

You can find Fort Café on Sidmouth seafront here, and you can follow them on Facebook here.

—————

For daily updates on what's happening in Sidmouth, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up to our free weekly newsletter featuring exclusive articles for subscribers - just type your email into the box below.