Once 'joyous' Torquay cafe could permanently become a flat

The café owners said they were closing because their landlord planned to turn it into an Airbnb

A former family-run café could be turned into a flat, new plans have revealed. The owners of the cafe previously claimed that their landlords had been planning to turn their business into another AirBnb.

The owners of the building on Babbacombe Road in Torquay have applied to convert the ground floor from a business into a one-bedroom flat, adding to the existing flats on the top and ground floor. The lower ground floor flat is currently being listed as a holiday accommodation on AirBnb.

Until August last year, the ground floor space was occupied by Daisy's café, owned by Craig McArdle. It was initially known as Daisycakes Coffee Shop, before turning into a café and lunch spot in 2019. It was best known for its breakfast fry-ups but also offered brunch, lunch and afternoon tea.

On August 2, 2023, it was announced that Daisy's café would be closing for good. The business owners claimed that their landlords had decided not to renew their lease as they wanted to expand their AirBnb business. The café closed on August 27, 2023.

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Craig and his partner Jen said the business had been a success and "a total joy". He added that the café left behind no debts, unpaid bills and that it had survived rising costs.

A post on the Daisy's café Facebook page said: "Sadly, Daisy's is closing at the end of August. We expect our last day of trading to be Sunday 27th August.

"Our landlord has decided not to renew our lease & expand their Airbnb business. Without a new lease we are unable to continue running Daisy's.

"We have worked hard to run a profitable business, we're not closing because of rising costs & when we close we will not be leaving any outstanding debts, or any of our suppliers with unpaid bills. We are assisting our brilliant staff in finding alternative employment.

"Thank you for buying thousands of coffees (thank you The Coffee Company), thousands of the best sausages in the Bay (thank you Prentice Butchers), thousands of the best eggs in Torbay (thank you Eggs on Legs) & all of the other lovely drinks & delicious food that you all ordered.

"Thank you to each and every one of you that have supported us since we opened on 30th December 2019, it really does mean a lot to us. We cannot tell you how much we have enjoyed meeting you all, having great conversations and making amazing friends. It has been a joy, a total joy. We will miss you."