There should have been bacon and sausages sizzling on the grill right now at Nottingham's newest cafe.
Instead a £10,000 refurbishment is weeks behind schedule and owner Robert Richardson is wracking his brains about a completely new business model.
Mr Richardson and his wife Jade got the keys to Meadow Lane Cafe in the middle of March just days before the coronavirus lockdown came into force.
"We had no idea what was to come. We had stripped the building and then lockdown happened. We couldn't get any materials and were wondering what to do.
"We had already invested a lot emotionally into the place," said Mr Richardson, 31, of West Bridgford.
The premises have been a cafe for years although the closed sign has been up for the last ten months.
By now the cafe, opposite Lady Bay Retail Park, and close to Notts County Football Club and and an industrial estate, should have been welcoming builders for a bacon cob and families later in the day for coffee and homemade cake.
With a new Screwfix and other businesses set to open nearby, there were hopes that it would help to regenerate the area.
Mr Richardson, who has been working on the refit himself, has carried on with the work the best he could. The tired, dated interior has been gutted and three skips filled with old fixtures and fittings.
He said: "Now we have been able to get materials again we've put our foot on the accelerator a bit. We should have been open by now with sausage and bacon on the grill. Instead I'm cutting plaster board right now.
"The business model is going to have to charge if we want to trade. We need to get some cash back from the investments we have made.
"We were going for a modernised greasy spoon and coffee shop with 24 seats inside. It looks like we may do a click and collect takeaway and food delivery service.
"At the moment we are pushing for the renovations to be done by the start of June and are now trying to negotiate the guidelines as to how we might put money in the till."
Despite the change in ownership it will keep the name Meadow Lane Cafe - although the new look will be very different, with a contemporary orange and grey colour scheme and an all-singing, all-dancing coffee machine for barista coffee.
"Local people seem to be very positive and we're getting a lot of support," said Mr Richardson, who returned to Notts after living in Spain for a number of years.
He also runs a contract cleaning business with more than 60 employees. With clients including offices, restaurants and pubs, the coronavirus has severely impacted on that too.
