BEST-SELLING Black Country author Miranda Dickinson turned out to 'cut the ribbon' at the official re-opening of her favourite coffee shop.

The popular romantic fiction novelist, who lives in Sedgley, officially welcomed back Cafè CC to Kingswinford yesterday (Friday July 26) - more than 12 months after the much-loved coffee and cake venue closed.

Christine Hutchings and daughter Charlotte Harratt have relaunched the popular coffee shop 12 months after closing their original premises in Market Street in June last year.

The new venture, still called Cafè CC, is based in the former Perfect Presents/Potting Shed unit near the Co-Op store in the High Street.

Christine said: "We were trying to find new premises to move to but we couldn’t so we sold everything and closed down. Then this came up and it’s perfect."

The old Cafè CC had been going strong for about six years and Christine said: "The business was doing well. We'd got such good customers. We've already had people saying 'I'm glad you're back'."

Stourbridge News: L-r - Christine Hutchings, author Miranda Dickinson, Charlotte HarrattL-r - Christine Hutchings, author Miranda Dickinson, Charlotte Harratt

Sunday Times bestselling author Miranda Dickinson is among the many customers delighted to welcome the coffee shop back to Kingswinford.

She said: "It’s the kind of community place Kingswinford needs – the thing that I remember as a kid that makes Kingswinford really special."

Miranda, whose next book The Day We Meet Again is due out in September, said she first found Cafè CC when she was pregnant with her daughter Flo and she said: "When I first started taking her out it was difficult to find a cafè that was helpful to new mums."

The vintage-style coffee shop later became a firm favourite with her daughter Flo, now five, and Miranda said: "It was where she always wanted to go. We were gutted when they closed."

She added: "I was so chuffed when Christine asked me to open it. I'm really happy to support them. It just looks beautiful and their plans sound amazing."

Christine hopes the cafè, which has an Alice in Wonderland theme, will become a community hub and she plans to host regular storytelling sessions in a specially-created storybook corner, plus a weekly crafting circle offering big knitting, crochet, paper craft and more. 

She said: "It’s not just about selling coffee and cakes – it’s about getting the community in."

Miranda, who thought up just such a coffee shop in her 2010 novel Welcome to My World before Cafè CC came into existence, will be invited back soon to lead one of the storybook sessions - Christine added.

For more details about the new shop, including opening times, check out Cafè CC on Facebook.