Devizes Welcomes New Coffee Shop, Caffe Vialottie

Devizes welcomed a charming new coffee shop to The Market Place today, called Caffe Vialottie; I thought it best to drop by, poke my nose in…..

Caffe Vialottie takes over the listed number 35, where the cherished Times Square closed its doors for the final time in June 2024. The walls are adorned with some nice artwork, the colour theme altered to a dark green and cream, but the tried and tested layout remains much the same as Times Square. It was met with busy enthusiasm by customers, many I suspect devotees of the previous cafe happy to see it back in action. “Everyone wants to try the new cafe,” manager Chelsie Godden greeted me, between frantically serving customers, “it’s been busy, but nice!”

While Chelsie worked at Times Square previously, the owner was new to the area. He stressed the importance of creating an individual space, adamant copying the mainstream coffee shop chains wasn’t on the agenda here, he said, “I think we’ve got something special here, something nice.”

If the word nice was coincidentally dropped twice, it certainly is that; nothing negative could be said about Caffe Vialottie. It seemed friendly, with a vibe to fit like a glove into Devizes. Yet with coffee being centre stage, tea and a good choice of soft drinks, there’s only toasties and a selection of cakes and Kettle crisps to wash down. It is, primarily, a “light lunch” stop-off point, rather than attempting to be a restaurant, and despite the call not to replicate the major coffee shop chains, unfortunately we do have a lot of similar establishments already in Devizes.

But hey, it does what it says on the tin, hospitably, and is price-matched with the established competitors in town. While personally I’d like to see someone trying something different and off the wall, ideas like tapas and Caribbean themed cafes haven’t been so successful in Devizes recently, as the tried and tested formula of tea, coffee and cake, seems to appease locals more. It is with that notion we wish Caffe Vialottie all the best of luck in these trying times, and hope future days will emulate the success of their opening day. Devizes can never have enough coffee it seems!

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