Proposed plans for a town cafe could see it become an amusement attraction like "skeg vegas", according to the owner. The owners of Fill Ya Face cafe on the High Street in Long Eaton are hoping to turn their cafe into an arcade.
The proposed plans are yet to be considered by Erewash Borough Council's Planning Committee, but owner Terry Jones, has spoken about his hopes for the site and how he would like to do something different.
The 44-year-old, who owns the cafe alongside his wife Michelle, said: “It’s going to be a Skeggy Vegas, we’ll have sand pits, water pits, cheaper brews, hot dogs, donuts, 2p coin pushes. Everyone is welcome. We want to keep it fun - the pushes in the middle, the teddy bear grabbers. A lot of people can’t go to the beach or can’t afford it so we thought of a good idea. It’s a change. All the windows will be dressed up like Skeggy Vegas. “
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The couple have owned Fill Ya Face for the past two and a half years. It is still currently open for takeaway and delivery as they await for the plans to be decided by local officials.
Mr Jones added: “I can’t do food at the side as well as the amusements. I’m hoping it’s going to be fun. It’s something completely different we thought we’d try, this would be the third time we’ve opened an arcade. It's what we used to do. We’ve had this for two and a half years, Fill Ya Face, sadly we’ve got a lot of good customers but we’ve got to move with the times.”
As well as plans for the arcade machines, they hope to create the Skegness beach feel by having rock, candyfloss, donuts, and sand pits outside for the children to play in.
Mr Jones said: “We are trying to make it as fun as possible, we are currently open for takeaway and have hopes to get the go-ahead. If this goes all well, we’ll see what the future holds. Not everyone has got a huge amount of money but you don’t need to here, just come in and have a brew, feel free to look around.”
Shoppers in the town centre shared excitement for the plans. Terry Lewis, a retired army veteran said: "It's good about the amusements, you've got to try for trial and error. If they want to get it right they got to trial and error."
Another shopper in the town, Rachel Hughes, from Beeston, said that it would help Long Eaton. She said: "It could be good if they do it right, it's a bit different. There's nothing like that in Long Eaton. A lot of shops and cafes have been lost so could help bring people into the high street."
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