AN enterprising cafe owner is sprucing up his Worcester cafe while it is closed during the coronavirus pandemic, telling his customers ‘we can beat this’

Rather than rest upon his laurels, owner Francini Osorio and his team at Francini Cafe De Colombia seized their moment to give the cafe in Angel Place a lockdown makeover so its ready for when he welcomes back his customers.

The community-minded father-of-three said manager Zeke Murthi had also been delivering milk that would otherwise have been wasted to their loyal customers, including over 60s and others who might be considered vulnerable. “We did as much as we could to help,” said Mr Osorio.

They have also been delivering cups of coffee and packs of coffee to their loyal customers. “We want to show them we appreciate they keep our business going. I hope we are still able to support each other once this is over. If we don’t have out customers we don’t have a business and if we don’t have a business we won’t have anything in this country,” he said.

Mr Osorio, who came to the UK from Colombia 33 years ago, believes the lockdown will be extended but, after working on the refurbishment with his manager for a week, he anticipates the new look cafe could be finished in another week, ready for when the restrictions are ultimately relaxed and he can begin welcoming his customers back. “We are brightening up the whole place, refreshing the whole concept,” he said.

The work will involve painting, redoing the lighting and improving the kitchen. The business has been keeping in touch with customers via Facebook. On one recent post they wrote: “Our coffee shop may be closed for the time being, but please get in touch if there is anything we can do for you. Together, we can beat this!

“The team at Francini is coming together to deliver essentials, food, help or a chat to those who are self-isolating at the moment in Worcester.”

Mr Osorio gets the coffee from his own farm in Colombia which is 50 to 60 square miles. On his farm he grows a variety of different beans which he is able to cultivate because of the range in altitudes. He embraces his indigenous Amerindian culture and offers a range of coffees from strong bitter, strong non-bitter and mellow as well as honey (Quimbaya) espresso and Wayu (made from peeled and washed beans) espresso.