Our Story.
… not an easy one to say the least, luck is not something either of us seem to have!!
Ashley and I met in Ibiza, October 2017. On our return to the UK we spent numerous weekends visiting Devon & Cornwall, until finally we took the plunge; left our full time hairdressing and mechanic jobs and started our adventure! This began at Eggesford in Mid Devon.
We put all our money and energy into transforming a tin shed on the railway line into our first business together. This started off well, until the pandemic hit and we lost our house/home.
A two berth caravan on a chicken farm in South Molton was our home for the next two years. Winter brought many challenges but summer was throughly enjoyable! Poppy our cocker spaniel was definitely living her best life the whole time. We absolutely loved every mintue at Eggesford Crossing Cafe (unless it was cold or windy then the water would be frozen and the door wouldn’t stay shut).
Five years we were open, potentially only trading for three with the lockdown closures etc. Unfortunately our time there came to an early end, we tragically had a fire in our storage unit next door which destroyed our power supply to the cafe and Ashley’s treasured vintage motorbikes! My car also broke down on the A361 the next day! Our turkey in the melted freezer survived though and we still managed to enjoy that on Christmas day!
We told ourselves no renovation projects but after I spotted No.4 South Street on RightMove, we viewed and fell in love with the place and the potential it had, a few hours later we sent over the business proposal and we were absolutely overwhelmed to be accepted for the lease. With a lot of help from friends, Mum, Dad and HSBC, Bambu was created. We opened in February 2023 expecting to be a breakfast cafe like before, but that quickly developed into evenings.
We always dreamt of one day having a seafood restaurant near the coast and now we have. Our food is simple, we just like to showcase the beautiful local produce Devon has to offer.
We are constantly expanding our offerings and are excited for the future of Bambu. We are both full time so you will find me front of house, making coffee’s and shaking cocktails and you will see Ashley ‘the chef in shorts’ cooking in the kitchen or sat at the bar after service with a drink in hand!
We love what we do and hope you do too. We are looking forward to welcoming you through the doors at Bambu.