A bastion of Bolton town centre closed its door for the final time on New Year’s eve after more than 45 years of operation.
Russells of Bolton family-run cafe, on Deansgate, opened in 1979 under Derek and Norma Guest, who despite their advancing years still chipped in with making a soup every week.
The cafe opened as a snack bar in the early 1970s before being converted into what it is today.
Jeremy Guest, Derek and Norma’s son, said: “Mum is a very good cook and still is, when it first started off as a snack bar underneath my father’s old record store it became really popular in the 1970s.
Read more: Son carries on family coffee shop tradition
(Image: NQ) “The name Russells is named after my brother believe it or not, but yeah, we had some great memories in the cafe growing up.
Read more: Bolton: Dispersal order enforced in town centre tonight
“It opened when I was 13, and I’m 60 now!”
Derek and Jeremy Guest (Image: NQ)Jeremy said Bolton town centre had been subjected to a general decline in footfall which has hurt the cafe’s revenue.
“It used to be that loads of people would come into Russells while they were in Bolton shopping on a Saturday, but now we just don’t get the numbers we once did, so less and less people come in,” Jeremy added.
Read more: Bolton News Review of the Year 2024: July – October
“For the past decade, we’ve had people people say: ‘Russells? Is that place still open’,” he explained.
Jeremy also said Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, plus a recent cost-of-living-crisis are also partly responsible for running costs soaring and making the business less sustainable.
Jeremy reported, however, that even in 2024, there are still a bunch of regulars that tend to be of a “certain age” that would still religiously go in.
(Image: NQ) Among other customers have been some very famous faces – or the “great and the good” as Jeremy put it.
(Image: NQ) He said former Bolton School pupil Ian McKellen has visited the cafe in the past, along with well-regarded chimney demolisher Fred Dibnah.
Downstairs in the cafe a litany of local famous faces are also visible in the form of portraits, including Peter Kay, Vernon Kay, and former Coronation Street actor Katy Cavanagh.
“It will be a sad day when we close but we’ve had some great memories there and a good run,” Jeremy said.
“Not too bad for what started off as a small snack bar underneath a record store!”