Little Bay Eatery celebrates its opening and potential revival of fortunes in Waterlooville town centre

Little Bay Eatery on Queens Parade, Waterlooville, opened on Saturday, March 11, with many showing their support for the new establishment which hopes to spearhead a revival of fortunes in the town centre.

Owners, Melanie Humphreys, from Waterlooville, and Peter Exton, from Emsworth, were there on the day along with six members of their team to welcome customers to the new eatery which has been a shared dream of theirs for some time now.

The eatery offers a wide range of food, much of which it showcased on the day, from homemade cakes and afternoon teas to a full breakfast menu, and a selection of lunch options including main meals, sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, traditional desserts and more.

‘It’s somewhere you can have a great coffee, great home cooked food and a relaxed environment,’ said Peter. ‘We welcome everybody.’

The pair, who formerly worked at Devilishly Good in Waterlooville, decided to take the leap of faith after securing a premises of their own on the high street.

‘It took us a while to find a premises, this one came along, so we snapped it up,’ said Peter.

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Melanie, who has lived in Waterlooville for 16 years, added: ‘Something drew me to it, I don’t normally walk towards that end, it was like an omen! When I first moved here it used to be quite a vibrant little centre, slowly as the years have gone on, more and more shops have closed down, it’s become run-down, when you talk to people they say it’s not worth coming to Waterlooville any more, which is really sad.

‘We hope to help bring the community back, it’s mine and Peter’s dream, the more people that come into town the better,’ she added.

For Melanie and Peter, it’s important to help other local vendors, using a local butchers, greengrocers, and locally traded coffee. The eatery will also offer deliveries or ‘meals on wheels’ to nursing homes and the local community, as well as catering for functions.

‘It’s a bit scary, but sometimes you have to just take that leap and keep your fingers crossed it’s going to be a success,’ added Melanie.