A new cafe has opened in a village near Aberystwyth following the transformation of a former antique shop.

Halen a Pupur opened the doors to the Exchange Stores building in Capel Bangor this morning (Thursday, 5 November).

The new business gives the village a much-needed boost following the closure in recent years of the shop and two pubs.

The cafe has also led to the creation of three staff and two extra weekend and holiday staff.

Halen a Pupur, which operates another cafe in Tregaron, held ‘a soft opening’ of the new business on Sunday, 1 November, as owner Morfudd Pugh explained.

“We open officially on Thursday, and then we will open weekly from Thursday-Monday, 9am until 3pm.

“On Sunday, we had a soft launch day to allow locals to come and meet us and have a look around.”

The idea for the new business came over Easter when Morfudd's friend Ffion Evans told her how she dreamed of buying Exchange Stores, previously owned by her grandparents, and opening a cafe there.

The pair discussed the possibility of opening a second Halen a Pupur and set about doing just that.

“Ffion was one of my bridesmaids when I got married,” said Morfudd.

"She owns the building in Capel Bangor, and I lease it from her."

Issuing a statement of thanks on Facebook following Sunday’s soft launch, they said: “What a welcome. We and our families are incredibly grateful to everyone who came to our open day.

“We honestly had no idea what to expect. We hoped people would pop in, have a nosy, and get a feel for what we’ve been working towards. Seeing so many of you come together to support something new meant the world to us.

“We’ve wanted to create a warm, welcoming place for the community — somewhere to meet, chat, and enjoy good coffee and food.

“Our vision has come to life, and we really hope you’ll enjoy spending time here as much as we do.

“A special thank you to those who’ve helped over the last few weeks. You know who you are. To everyone who helped with the girls over half term — juggling four children while getting a cafe ready is quite something, and your help made such a difference. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“To all the boys who put in the hard graft and long evenings to get everything ready — thank you so much.

“A huge thank you also to Annwen (Y Banc Catering) for yesterday’s delicious nibbles and to my mum for the bara brith and Welsh cakes. They went down an absolute treat! It was lovely to give you a little taste of some of the things to come on our menu.

“We officially open on Thursday, operating Thursdays - Mondays, 9am–3pm.

“These will be our winter hours for now. We’ll review them after Christmas and New Year, listening to what works best for our customers and the Capel Bangor community.

“Thank you for giving this new chapter such a lovely beginning.”