Meet the owners of Worthing's newest café – they promise competitive prices and a friendly welcome

Chandu Ambati and Haresh Telugu launched Caffe Oak last month, serving breakfasts, brunches, hot lunches, salads and sandwiches.

They said they had got off to a solid start, but were hoping more people will hear about the business and start coming in.

Caffe Oak is in Stanford Square, just off Warwick Street, and Chandu said people walking down Warwick Street often didn’t realise they were there. But, he said, those customers who had found them already have been back for repeat visits.

He added: “Our food is very reasonably priced compared to other cafés nearby. Our Oak Breakfast, which is our big breakfast, is £11.95 while others charge £16 or £17. We still use premium ingredients, but when we started we always knew we wanted to be affordable for people.

"We also offer lots of gluten-free and vegan options, and we’ve received praise for them online. One lady has been back for the gluten-free pancakes three times in a week!”

Chandu and Haresh moved to the UK from India seven years ago. They worked in IT in London, but when their roles fell through, they started doing delivery driving for Amazon. Initially they were getting a lot of work, but earlier this year that work also dried up.

They decided to take control of their financial fortunes, and moved to the Sussex coast to start their own business. First, they bought a café in Felpham called Caffe Grey, which they are still running now. Then in May they took the opportunity to expand when they saw the former AyVel Cafe site in Worthing was available.

They are now living in Chichester, and said they are enjoying life in Sussex and learning about a new culture.

Chandu said: “Where we used to live, there was a large Asian community so it didn’t feel like we had left India. Now, living here, it’s very different but we’re really enjoying it.

"We want our cafés to have a really friendly feel and hope people will come and give us a try.”

Chandu has applied for an alcohol license for Caffe Oak and said they hoped to start opening in the evenings when they have it. They plan to serve Spanish food at night, which they already do in their other café.

For more information, see https://www.caffeoak.com/