THE owner of a popular café in Helston has thanked the support of customers and staff as he prepares to sell the business after 16 years to recover from recent health issues.

Herbie Glasson, 61, has owned the Park Café at the top of Horse and Jockey Lane for the last 16 years after taking over from Sue Davies in 2007.

Throughout his ownership of the café, Herbie has made some lifelong friends, including customers and staff.

In 2022, the café won an award in the BBC Radio Cornwall’s ‘Make a Difference Award’ for its hospitality during the Covid pandemic. Herbie and waitress Freyja King were nominated for the award after they supported the elderly, vulnerable, scared, and disabled people in Helston during the first lockdown in 2020.

Herbie and Freyja worked every day from 8am for 28 weeks, delivering around 30 meals to people’s homes, often by foot, and for those who lived further away, they drove.

Falmouth Packet: Herbie and Freyja at the 'Make a Difference Award's' in 2022 Herbie and Freyja at the 'Make a Difference Award's' in 2022 (Image: Melinda King)

Often, they were the only people that customers saw all day and were so glad to see them – albeit masked and gloved.

However, three years on, Herbie has now made the difficult decision to sell the café to focus on getting better after recent issues with his health.

Earlier this year, Herbie was experiencing frequent heart attacks, with one taking place during a shopping trip at Tesco in Helston. With the help of the staff, Herbie was taken to Derriford Hospital by ambulance where he received a bypass operation with a recovery period of nine to 12 weeks.

Herbie also suffers from kidney failure and now receives daily dialysis three times a day. Although Herbie is now on the road to recovery, he has made the hard decision to sell the café.

Herbie told the Packet: “I was told that if I was to go back to the café and continue doing what I was doing I would end up being back in the hospital again.

“I have decided to sell the café and take things easy.

“I will miss all the customers and staff; they have become a part of my life. All the staff are good as gold.

“So far, I have had 220 get well messages from customers and even had some come to the hospital to see me for a few hours. It was nice to have the company.”

READ NEXT: 

Once the café is sold and he feels well enough, Herbie hopes to move to Falmouth to be closer to his sister and to do some voluntary cooking work in a day centre.

Falmouth Packet: The popular café is now up for saleThe popular café is now up for sale (Image: NQ Staff)

The leasehold on the café is now up for sale for offers of around £12,000 with four years on the lease remaining.

Herbie explained why the café is the ideal location in Helston. He said: “It’s a good profitable business, and it's an ideal position in the town. People parking in the car park (Trengrouse Way Extension) would have to walk past the café when entering the town.”