Owners of family-run Southsea cafe thank community for warm welcomeÂ

The Farm Kitchen opened in Palmerston Road, in a unit formerly occupied by Akram Spice Cave, at the end of last year. 

The business was the brainchild of Memed Basbaydar, 30, and his partner Sema Yildiz, 31, who joined forces with Memed's sister Hatun Basbaydar, 36, and his brother-in-law Enver Taycur, 41. 

They secured investment from a backer in Istanbul and set about a long process of obtaining planning permission and then transforming the unit into the modern cafe it is today. 

Sema, who moved to the UK 11 years ago, said: '˜We try to cater for everyone with fresh foods and salads.

'˜We can cater for all, we have fresh hot food, we can cater for vegans, gluten-free and vegetarians, whatever, and we are one of the biggest cafes in Southsea.

'˜Because of the space we have, people feel comfortable enough to come in and sit for hours. We have lots of parents coming in with prams, and people with dogs, we get a really good vibe.' 

The cafe offers cooked breakfast with local ingredients, Sunday roasts, soups and sandwiches, Kurdish cuisine and salads, as well as homemade cakes and coffee. 

Sema said: '˜We are a family-run business and we knew about this place for a year before we actually opened.

'˜We were so excited about the space and its location.

'˜We wanted a new venture as we had a small place in Cosham.

'˜It was stressful but rewarding in the end. Southsea is great as even though it is in Portsmouth, a big city, we feel that we are part of the community.' 

Customers have already been rating the cafe highly, with excellent reviews on its Facebook page and on TripAdvisor. 

The cafe is open Monday to Saturday from 8am until 6pm and 9am until 4pm on a Sunday.