New manager of Cafe 1857 at TW Gaze in Diss wants site to be food destination

Local and quality are the mantras of a single mum who has taken over a popular café.

Though Café 1857, at TW Gaze Auctioneers in Diss, officially reopened under new management on July 26, Amie Strak actually took on the business on May 7.

Having owned cafés before and been involved in catering for most of her life, when this opportunity arose it was too good to miss.

“My last café closed at the beginning of Covid, so when friends of mine saw that TW Gaze wanted someone to take on their one, I was sent so many messages to do it.

“After interviews and taking samples of my cooking into TW Gaze, here we are.”

Named after the year the auctioneers was established, it offers freshly-baked cakes and scones, breakfast and brunch options, a specials board and a children’s mini menu.

Miss Strak, who lives in Thelnetham with her three-year-old daughter Elizabeth, wants to make it a food destination.

“We are baking everything fresh here and supporting everything that is local and/or quality, including suppliers and our staff who come from the area,” she said.

“Since I started I wanted to make this more than a breakfast place, I want to make this somewhere people also want to come for lunch as well and we are seeing more people come round to that idea, which is great.”

The business owner has 10 staff, including herself, and she said it was important to her to keep the team on when she took over the café.

She added: “These ladies are real grafters, have really got behind what I want to do here and I appreciate all their hard work.”

As well as a coffee loyalty scheme, Miss Strak has a few other plans for the future of the business.

“On non-sale days, I want to promote it as a nice space to come with kids as there is loads of parking and room for push chairs,” she said.

“I just want everyone to feel welcome here and thank everyone for their support and lovely feedback so far. I hope this is just the beginning for Café 1857.”