CYNON VALLEY LOCAL BUSINESS AWARDS

The Pop In Café in Aberdare has been announced as the winner of the first Cynon Valley ‘Local Business Awards’.

More than 4,500 local people nominated their favourite Cynon Valley business, and the Pop In Café on Canon Street came out on top with nearly 200 nominations.

This is the first year of the awards, which were started by local MP Beth Winter to recognise Cynon Valley businesses following a difficult few years for small business.

The announcement was made on small business Saturday, a grassroots campaign aimed at encouraging consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

The Pop In Café is run by Aga and Cem Karatay, who opened the business in June 2018 and have built a loyal base of customers. Those nominating the café said how friendly and welcoming the staff are, and that the food is delicious and great value.

Speaking about the win, Aga said,

“I am just so honoured to have won the Local Business Awards. We work hard every day to bring the community together and serve them great food.”

“A massive thank you to every one of our customers who took the time to nominate us, it means the world to us.”

Runners up were Mountain Ash Town Hall Café, Rachael’s Playhouse (Hirwaun and Aberdare), and Mountain Ash Embroidery. There were many other businesses which were also nominated by dozens of happy customers.

Beth Winter said

“It is a turbulent time to run a business, and I’m sure it can feel like a thankless task at times, but I know the sense of pride people feel about their local businesses and wanted to give people the chance to show their appreciation to local firms.”

“I have been blown away by the scale of response to the awards. We had nearly 5,000 individual nominations for all kinds of businesses, from high-street shops, to consultancy firms, to individual tradespeople.”

“This Christmas, please show your support by spending as much as possible in locally owned businesses. Every £1 spent in Amazon or in out of town retail parks is £1 Cynon Valley won’t see again. Every £1 spent in local businesses is £1 that supports local businesses, strengthens our local economy, and improves our communities.”