THE Brown family are set to live out a dream next month as they open Cwmbran’s newest café, Brown Bear’s Coffee House.

The new family-run business is to take over the premises of Nine Yards, currently located in Cwmbran shopping centre, but with a twist.

Fronted by Adam Brown, 33, his wife Donna and Adam’s parents, Sarah and Simon, this team are ready to change Cwmbran’s café scene.

While Brown Bear’s will thankfully not have any real bears on the premises, along with drinks and sandwiches, they plan to sell unique cakes, waffles and even ice cream and sorbet.

Aside from the place of birth for their Brown Bear’s journey, the Nine Yards shop however means more to the family than just the location of their new business.

Described by Adam as ‘nostalgic’, the idea of opening a café, especially in that spot, seemed like a joke.

“When my Grandfather was alive, we always used to go there with him as a family, it has a lot of close memories.

“It was quite funny how it came about. We were sitting there in a coffee shop and joked about how if it (Nine Yards) ever went up for sale we could make it into our own coffee shop not really thinking too much of it. Months later and this dream is going to be a reality.

“It means so much to us and when it came available, we simply had to make an offer,” Adam said.

A successful business is made by the customers and Adam’s mum Sarah, also one of the directors, stresses the importance of them more than anything else.

“We have been in customer service all our lives. Our main priority is to welcome people and have return customers, have people that enjoy the service they are provided with,” she said.

Cwmbran and the demands of a coffee shop are not new to the Brown family.

Adam has already been a store manager of a coffee shop, while his wife Donna has been in catering since she left school.

Donna still plans to run her local cleaning business but joins a team with a wealth of experience in customer service.

Ever since plans were drafted up, the Brown family has been keen to keep suppliers close to home.

Stocking cakes from Beth’s Bakes in Newport and sourcing the creation of their logo from a local graphic designer, Brown Bear’s intend to keep things ‘as local as possible’.

“In high streets dominated by ‘robotic’ corporations our plan is to make this family-orientated business not just for certain people, anyone can come in,” Adam said.

Adam’s father, Simon, believes that the company can model themselves on the Danish term ‘hygge’ which is “a mood for cosiness”.

“I don’t want to sound cringey, but I’d like to think we could model hygge. Warm and welcoming to people and we want just that, the shop to be that - an oasis of cool and calm,” he said.

It may not have even opened yet, but the family has big plans for Brown Bear’s brand.

“The ideal plan would be to have three or four across South Wales in the next five years, but we want to get Cwmbran right and be a real part of the local community first.

“The longevity of the logo tells us that we want to be in it for the long run that it can be a brand.”