A long-running café next to one of south Wales' best known landmarks has closed down suddenly. Fanny's Rest Stop café on Alexandra Road in Newport, a stone's throw from the Transporter Bridge, closed its doors earlier this month after more than a decade in the city.
The café opened in late 2011 and has been a mainstay in the city and was well-known for its old-style service including a mammoth chalk board of generous fry-ups, sandwiches and more, as well as the vintage signage and memorabilia adorning its walls.
Jo Evans-Pring, 67, who ran the café - which once landed itself in hot water after Google hilariously tried to ban it from advertising faggots and peas due to its "offensive" name - told WalesOnline it had closed suddenly due to a dispute with the building's landlord.
Read more: The decades-old family-run Newport restaurant that's one of the last of its kind
Oryx Property Holdings Limited, which owns the building, said it had taken possession of the building.
She told WalesOnline she was "heartbroken" that the business had closed. "I took the building over in October 2011 and opened the café in December 2011," she said. "It's had a lot of characters in the door over the years - myself included!" Jo said trade at the café had been "ticking away" before its closure and had welcomed many loyal customers in over the years, including some famous names.
"We've had Dr Feelgood who were the last ones who came in. They came in a few years ago and came back the last time they were in south Wales. We had the band Bad Manners, who signed my husband's record. Timmy Mallett came in - a lot of people from all over the world.
"The customers have all been fantastic. We had no central heating but they always had a warm welcome. I enjoyed every minute of it. The character is what I wanted when I moved in - I wanted people to feel at home. We had things on the walls - stamps, ration books. One person from Canada made sure he came to the cafe when he was here visiting, just so he could try the faggots and peas."
Jo said she had been told Fanny's was "iconic" by a customer and added that one had even written a poem as an ode to the long-running café. "I need help to see if I can find another place. If anybody can help it would be much appreciated," she added.
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