Entrepreneur opens Chester’s first grilled cheese café

An entrepreneur in Chester has opened the city’s first ever grilled cheese café.

Meltdown, the brainchild of Laura Lautrete, was launched with a startup loan from funding provider Business Finance Solutions.

Located in the Handbridge area of the city, the café serves grilled cheese sandwiches, craft beers and soft drinks for the university and college market, in addition to targeting local office workers.

The startup loan was used to fund the building work required to get Meltdown up and running and to purchase kitchen fittings and appliances.

Founder Laura has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years. Starting out her career as a waitress in her parents’ restaurant, Laura went on to manage a number of venues in London before returning to Chester in 2014 to run pizza restaurant Urbano32.

Laura said: “Grilled cheese cafes and pop ups are opening all over the US and in London and I’m so pleased to have been able to use my Start Up Loan and the support of BFS to bring the concept to Chester.

“Grilled cheese has to be the ultimate comfort food – it’s a dish that can be as simple or as gourmet as you like – and we’ll be offering a range of great British and European cheeses within our menu.”

She added: “Starting a business is incredibly exciting but there are also many challenges, not least being able to find the finance we needed, so being able to call on the BFS team’s funding, advice and support has made a big difference to our startup journey.”

Moving forward, Laura plans to introduce a breakfast menu at Meltdown and develop cheese-related events, such as cheese and craft beer evenings.

Alex Mearns, loan manager at BFS, commented: “Laura has spent three decades working and honing her skills in the restaurant industry and with the launch of Meltdown she is finally able to bring all her expertise and experience into what will be a great addition to Chester’s café culture.

“We are really pleased to have been able to provide the funding she needs to make her dream of owning her own restaurant a reality.”