13/07/2021
It's with a heavy heart, and some definite mixed emotions, that we announce the closing of Cakes and Ladders café at the end of the summer.
Though not entirely Covid related, the past year and a half has certainly made us reflect on the incredible challenges facing hospitality now, and for the foreseeable future. Our original lease took us up to September 2021, and we feel the time is right to move onto pastures new. Ruth will be continuing to look after bus baby Penelope and is hatching some plans for a pop-up board game party and events business (watch this space!) and Hywel will be keeping George the bus dog out of trouble, whilst starting a new role in the charity sector and doing some freelance audio production (check out www.hywelsedgwickaudio.com for more info).
It's been one hell of a journey, with hundreds of happy board gamers, thousands of coffees served, and the best, most incredible and supportive customers and community. We've had visits from MPs, mayor's and local celebs, features in Time Out, the Evening Standard and Londonist, and countless events, from quizzes to board game tournaments, live music and farmers markets.
Our amazing bus buddies Earth Tap will be continuing to run the bus as their taproom for the time being, so you'll still be able to get your local craft beer fix in the Blue House Yard. They're also on the lookout for a new partner to run a potential café space (with the possibility of throwing some of our equipment into the bargain) so drop them a line if you're a budding entrepreneur, with an idea for a bus based business.
We wanted to take this opportunity to say a massive heartfelt THANK YOU to absolutely everyone who's been with us on this journey, with an extra special thanks to our lovely, loyal customers - you've honestly made this job an absolute joy from day one, and the hardest thing about things coming to an end is knowing we won't see all your smiling faces on board anymore. And of course a huge thanks to all our amazing staff, past and present, who've made the bus such a welcoming and friendly environment, and made it such an awesome place to come to work every day!
We won't be saying goodbye without a proper send off though! Our closing party will be on Sunday 29th August from 12pm onwards, with tons of coffee, cake, craft beer from Earth Tap, and free board games for all. Drop us a message to book a table, or just drop by on the day 📖
Our last day trading will be the bank holiday Monday 30th August with coffee and beer through till late afternoon. We'll be trading as usual up until then, so please do drop by for one last farewell coffee or board game sesh before then. If you kindly donated to our crowdfunder and haven't yet cashed in any vouchers etc. then please do drop us a line and we can hopefully sort this out over the summer.
So here's to one last summer of beers and board games on the bus - hopefully the weather plays ball so we can go out with a bang rather than a soggy bottom! ☀️🌧️🤞🍻🎲
