I was forced to close my cafe after neighbors complained about the smell of bacon. Now I’m opening again just 100 meters away
A WOMAN who had to close her cafe after neighbors complained about the smell of bacon is now reopening just 100 yards away.
Emma Ayles hopes she can reposition her cafe, which is in a converted shop shipping containerwill take it out of earshot and out of the nostrils of the complainers.
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The Caddy Shack cafe was a popular addition to a rugby club parking lot Weymouth, Dorsetsince opening in April 2022.
Three local residents then voiced their opposition to Emma’s application to make it a permanent facility, citing issues with “noise and odor”.
Opponents claimed that the “smell of bacon‘ and ‘hearing teaspoons and teacups’ ruined their standard of living.
Officials ordered 47-year-old Emma to close the cafe in December last year due to the “unacceptable damage” it had caused to neighbours.
The married mother-of-two has now submitted a new planning application for the cafe, which will see it move to the other side of the car park.
Emma said: “It used to be 24 meters away from the neighbors but now it will be almost 100 metres, so they shouldn’t be able to smell bacon or hear teacups clinking.”
She already has the backing of Weymouth Council, which has backed her plans, but they now need to be approved by Dorset Council.
Emma said she hoped “common sense would prevail” and that officials would approve the new location and support a local resident company.
She has also started one Change.Org petition to save The Caddy Shack, which has received more than 4,000 signatures in a month.
She said: “It was really heartwarming and beautiful to see the support (from the petition).
“The plan is to place the hut completely on the other side of the parking lot.
“I am hopeful that the council will be on my side this time as two of the three complaints said they wanted to move the hut to the other side of the car park.
“That is what we are proposing and it was only the leader who was against the whole thing.
“I’m hopeful they’ll approve it, but I’ve learned from my experience so far that anything can happen.”
After the café closed in December, with eight people made redundant, Emma described the situation tension she had gotten through the little argument.
She said: “It’s been a constant struggle and so stressful.
‘The whole thing is so ridiculous that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘Complaining about the smell of bacon is ridiculous. And 90 percent of the time the wind blows the other way, from that house.
“What do they want us to do: use chocolate teacups so there’s no noise?
‘The municipality must support us small companies yet they gave in to the ridiculous complaints of three residents.”
Councilor Tim Young backed Emma’s plans, saying: “I would like to support it. It was a very popular resource, it would be a shame if it didn’t come back.
“They pushed it back a bit, which seems to solve the problem.”
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