An Edinburgh cafe that was beloved by parents and young children has announced it will be reopening.
The Turtledove Play Cafe in the Davidson's Mains neighbourhood sadly closed its doors in June 2022 due to 'low sales'. However, a best-friend duo has taken over the cafe and will be reopening it for the community.
Mum-of-three- Lorraine Rollo, 51, and her best friend Karen Currie, 44, who has a 21-month-old daughter, both have experience in childcare. After 16 years of friendship have come together to reopen Turtledove Play Cafe from Monday July 17.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Lorraine said: "We've never done anything like this before, so it's all brand new. We're having a trial run with family and friends and their little ones on Saturday as our Guinea pigs.
"We officially took it over in May 2023 and it has been exciting but exhausting trying to get everything ready. But Karen and I are using our experience with children having fun when we're picking out the toys and things for them.
"The Turtledove cafe was well known here, we used to come here with our kids and have a chat and coffee so we wanted to keep the name."
Karen added: "It will be a learning curve for us and a place where children can be stimulated, have fun, and parents can meet other parents, and have a coffee and chat."
"But it's for everyone. While we've been doing it up, we've had people from the community poke their heads in and say it's looking good, or telling us that they will come in for a coffee when we're open. The community here is just so supportive."
The pair admit that they had hoped to open a few weeks earlier but while this new project is exciting, it has come with a couple of challenges.
Lorraine said: "We ordered a soft play frame and it's been delayed for weeks with shipping and customs. But it will be here by Saturday, but that was stressful.
"We also need a cook. Just someone who can make toasties, heat things up. We'd love another mum to join us. If anyone wants to do that, they can get in touch."
The Turtledove cafe will be opening on Monday from 10am-3pm.
You can follow Lorraine and Karen's Turtledove play cafe on Facebook.
