Couple calling time on Shropshire border pop-up restaurant
A pop-up restaurant on the Shropshire border which has been rated as one of the top food places in the county is set to close.
Roses Pop-Up Vintage Tea Room, which traded on Saturdays and Sundays, will call time on its two-year stint at the end of the month.
Angela and Keith Ellis, who run the tearoom, said they had been a victim of their own success because they couldn't keep up with demand.
Mr Ellis, 69, said after trading for two seasons with the pop-up tearoom in the middle of Mortimer Forest, near Ludlow, they were calling it a day.
He said: "We started trading in March, 2013 in two feet of snow at one of the most scenic locations near Ludlow.
"After difficult times in the early days our concept of providing quality food and drink on bone China crockery in the middle of the beautiful forest went from strength-to-strength.
"We have now become the victims of our own success as our many loyal and regular customers have promoted us on Trip Advisor. We are now rated the number one restaurant in Ludlow on the website and number three in Shropshire, out of 1,005 listings."
Mr Ellis said the comments left online about their afternoon teas, cream teas, homemade cakes and soups, and lunch deals, had taken them both by surprise.
He said the numbers visiting them at the High Vinnalls car park was in excess of 160 customers on some weekends.
"We not only see people arriving from all over Great Britain but from the four corners of the globe," he said. "Americans, Australians, Canadians, French, Belgian, Italians, New Zealanders, Scandinavians and Porto Ricans are just a few of the nationalities who have enjoyed the experience.
"Roses Pop-Up has also successfully catered for many private functions and events.
"Angela's reputation in these roles has also spread far and wide, so much so that events like the Royal Bath and West Show called this year to request we take our tea room to their event to offer the quality food to the visitors."
Mr Ellis said they had been keen to sell the business as a going concern but had received no serious interest.
"We are therefore reluctantly closing down the tearoom in order to continue with the private functions and events only," he said.
"With me approaching my 70th birthday next year and suffering from arthritic joints, the seasonal popping up of the forest tea room is just proving too much for me."
Angela said they both wished to extend their thanks and gratitude to their many regular customers who had supported them over the past two seasons.
She said: "We apologise for our inability to carry the operation on for a third season. We do not look upon our visitors as customers, but see them as good friends calling in to see us."
