A New French Bakery is Coming to Cedar Rapids This Spring
A Cedar Rapids bakery & cafe is set to make a comeback under a new name this spring! According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Café Déjà Vu is coming soon to the Town & Country Shopping Center! About Café Déjà Vu Caf…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Frenchbistrofood #bistrofood #Foodanddrink #francais #france #French #khakmorningshow #localnews
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2625156/a-new-french-bakery-is-coming-to-cedar-rapids-this-spring/
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SWANSEA: City ranks among UK’s top five cheapest places for a pint ahead of bank holiday weekend
As millions of Brits prepare to head to beer gardens this bank holiday weekend, Swansea drinkers have reason to raise a glass – a new study has found the city ranks among the top five cheapest places in the UK to enjoy a pint.
Research by financial services company Aqua has ranked cities across the UK by the average cost of a pint of lager, and Swansea has come in comfortably within the top five most affordable. The findings will come as welcome news for locals planning a bank holiday trip to the pub, with prices in Swansea significantly below those seen in London and other major UK cities.
The study, which surveyed prices across hundreds of venues nationwide, reflects a wider pattern of south Wales offering considerably better value for drinkers than the UK average. While pints in central London regularly top five pounds, Swansea’s pub-goers are paying noticeably less for the same experience.
The findings come as the bank holiday weekend traditionally marks the start of the outdoor drinking season, with pub gardens filling up across the country. Industry figures suggest the May bank holiday is one of the busiest weekends of the year for pubs, with good weather capable of transforming fortunes for venues that have struggled with the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze.
Swansea has a diverse and thriving pub scene, from traditional community locals in areas like Uplands and Mumbles to the bars and restaurants of the city centre and marina. The combination of relatively low prices and a strong community pub culture has helped Swansea maintain a more vibrant hospitality scene than many comparable UK cities.
The research also highlights the stark contrast between different parts of the UK. Drinkers in the cheapest cities can expect to pay significantly less per pint than those in the most expensive, with the gap between the top and bottom of the rankings running to well over a pound per drink.
For those heading out this bank holiday weekend, the study suggests Swansea remains one of the best-value destinations in the country for a relaxed drink in good company – and with the forecast looking promising, local pub gardens are expected to be busy.
The hospitality sector across Wales has faced significant pressures in recent years, with rising energy costs, inflation and changes to business rates hitting many venues hard. Despite those challenges, Swansea’s pub scene has shown considerable resilience, with new venues continuing to open alongside long-established locals.
Nationally, pub closures have continued at a steady rate, with the British Beer and Pub Association estimating that one pub a day was closing across England and Wales at the height of the cost-of-living crisis. Swansea’s relative affordability may be one factor helping to buck that trend locally.
Whether you’re a local heading to your regular or a visitor exploring the city for the first time, the bank holiday weekend looks like a fine time to discover what Swansea’s pubs have to offer – at some of the best prices in the country.
The full Aqua research, including the complete city-by-city rankings, is available at aqua.co.uk.
If you’re heading out this bank holiday weekend, Swansea Bay News would love to hear your recommendations – find us on Facebook and let us know your favourite local.
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CARMARTHENSHIRE: Tributes to Granny Dot – the 102-year-old whose £6k gamble built a £70m Welsh food giant
Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a great-grandmother whose generosity and faith in her family helped launch one of Wales’s most successful food businesses after she died at the age of 102.
Dorothy Edwards, known to all as Granny Dot, loaned 6,000 pounds to her daughter and son-in-law in 1972 to buy a frozen food shop and wholesale business in Harlech. That single act of faith laid the foundations for Harlech Foodservice, a family-run company that now employs 300 people, turns over around 70 million pounds a year, and has a depot in Carmarthen serving pubs, restaurants, schools and hospitals across Wales and beyond.
Dorothy passed away on 28 March. A celebration of her life takes place tomorrow, Friday 1 May, at 2.30pm at Telford Crematorium, with donations to the Midlands Air Ambulance.
The loan, worth around 100,000 pounds in today’s money, enabled Gill and Colin Foskett to purchase the Harlech business and begin what would become a remarkable Welsh food and drink success story. The company has since expanded to depots in Carmarthen, Caerphilly and Telford, alongside its long-established centres in Cricieth and Chester, and was named UK Food Wholesaler of the Year in 2025.
Andrew Foskett, Dorothy’s grandson and Harlech Foodservice‘s joint chairman, said the loan had been life-changing for the entire family. He said: “It is fair to say without my grandmother, Harlech Foodservice would simply not exist. The circumstances were there, the opportunity came along and the rest is history.”
Andrew recalled his grandfather Harry’s words at the time of the loan. “Giving that money was a gamble,” he said, “but I remember grandad’s comment to my dad Colin — he said if it doesn’t work out, it’s not for the want of trying. So they backed them knowing they would have the ability to make a go of it.”
Today three generations of the family work in the business, with Dorothy’s grandchildren Jonathan, Andrew and Laura in director roles and a third generation also on board. Andrew said Dorothy had followed the company’s progress right to the end. “She was over the moon about the success of the business,” he said. “Dorothy would still follow Harlech on their Facebook page in her later years — she took an ongoing interest in it.”
Dorothy was born in Shrewsbury in 1923 and met her future husband Harry through his sister Phyllis, with their first date at a fairground. During the Second World War she made Spitfire parts at a factory in Hadley while Harry served as an Army gunner in Greece. The couple married in 1945 after Harry sent a telegram from abroad asking Dorothy to arrange the wedding for his return — she had not seen him for three years.
The pair went on to have six children and run a family funeral directors business, Harry Edwards and Sons. It was money from that business that is believed to have funded the pivotal 1972 loan that changed the family’s fortunes forever.
Andrew described his grandmother as someone whose warmth and laughter filled every room. “She quite often would tell stories but laugh so much it was difficult for her to complete the story,” he said, “especially when her daughters were around because they would be laughing so much.”
Dorothy is survived by grandchildren Jonathan, Andrew, Laura, Joshua and Molly Rose, and great-grandchildren Toby, Hari, Charlie, Ella, Mili, Maisie, Joel, Nancy, Eden and Dorothy.
Her family described her as one of a kind who lived a long and beautiful life and leaves behind a lasting legacy — not just through her family, but through the hundreds of jobs and the thriving Welsh business that her generosity made possible.
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