A new coffee shop has opened at Kenilworth Railway Station just weeks after the full rail timetable was resumed.

Colombia Rose launched last week in the station's retail unit, which has been vacant since last autumn.

And it was a quick beginning for the new owners who opened for business less than a month after getting the keys.

"It was a very quick turnaround, but we wanted to show that it was possible and that we can get it set up in such a short space of time," explained senior operations manager Rebecca Trotter.

"We had a soft opening at the end of May to assess the peak times, to see what people wanted and what their needs were. 

"And then we had our official launch on Monday 6 June."

The shop opened on Monday after the unit had been vacant since last Autumn

The Colombia Rose team, which already run a coffee shop at Corby Railway Station, were made aware of the opening at Kenilworth by West Midlands Railway earlier this year.

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And having heard of the difficulties the station has faced in the past two years, they decided it was time to give it a new lease of life.

"It seemed like a really nice little station," Rebecca added. 

"And we knew there hadn't been a cafe here for a while and I think everywhere needs somewhere to get a coffee or a bottle of water to take on the train.

"Obviously it was closed for all those years, reopens and then closes due to the pandemic. We definitely want to be here for the community and to give it a fresh start."

Whilst the cafe has been going only for a matter of days, Rebecca said she was already receiving positive feedback from locals who were pleased to see the unit open again.

And she said once the word gets out that the shop is back up and running, things will only get better.

Rebecca: 'We definitely want to be here for the community and to give it a fresh start'

"It has been really good so far. People have been coming in from the local area as well as commuters, and hopefully we will do really well," she added.

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"I have already been getting locals who want to come back in as their coffee shop. We already have a gentleman who pops in from across the road every morning so we are hoping this will be good for the local community as well."

And explaining the shop's name she said it was all about traditional English coffee shop values - 'Rose' - mixed with high quality coffee - 'Colombia'.

"Our coffee is top notch, really fresh - the beans were only roasted less than a week ago, so they haven't been sat around in a warehouse for a month or so.

"Come and try our coffee and you will be really happy with the quality I am sure."

The shop will be open:

• Monday to Friday 7am to 3pm.
• Saturday 8am to 3pm.
• Sunday 10am to 3pm.