Thorfinn Sinclair
The newest café in Stromness, ‘ Ell & Co’, has been forced to close its door less than a year after opening due to coronavirus sweeping the world.
The long established Café at the Pierhead had fallen into disuse in recent years, but has been given a new lease of life by the Poke family. The new business venture saw extensive renovation to the building both inside and out. With a fresh appearance, ‘Ell & Co’ was a welcome edition to the street.
Having enjoyed working in the hospitality industry, Ellen Poke (co-owner) told us “ from a young age it had been a dream of hers to own a café.” Supported by her parents, this dream became a reality. The revamp of the old café started and was themed “around nostalgia with modern twist.”
When the café opened in April 2019, Ellen said she was “very excited but nervous about how people would react to it”, but with a very busy year that was soon forgotten. Receiving lots of customer praise and 5 stars on Facebook reviews, this comment says it all “Fantastic cafe everything cooked fresh, staff are so friendly and helpful, value for money, well worth a visit more than once”.
Catastrophe struck in March 2020 when ‘Ell & Co’ were forced to close their doors due to the Corona crisis. This was “devastating news” for Ellen and her family who were “ preparing for the coming season with lots of new ideas”. Ellen further commented: “its really weird not going there, driving past and seeing it in darkness.”
With no end to the lockdown in sight, the streets of Stromness are very quiet. But when the town finally reopens, the café and local businesses will rely on the support of the local community.
Remaining upbeat Ellen says: “we are hoping that very soon we can get the coffee machine going again.”
Myself and many others will be looking forward to that … but it’s a milkshake and cake for me!
