Advertiser's challenge to Dragon Rachel

THE Advertiser  invited former TV “dragon” Rachel Elnaugh back to Rotherham this week to help out in the town’s revival.

We joined calls from Rotherham Borough Council and cafe owner Michael Meares for the entrepreneur, who recounted a “dismal” visit to the town, to return to the borough and share her business expertise.

The Advertiser contacted Rachel to suggest that she join us on a tour of the town centre and point out where she thinks traders and business leaders are going wrong, but she had not replied to our invitation when this week’s edition went to press.

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The heated debate over the Bakewell businesswoman’s visit to Rotherham showed few signs of abating this week.

We reported last week how Rachel, who appeared on the BBC show Dragon’s Den, criticised the town centre in general, and the Riverside Cafe in particular, in her online blog after being asked by staff to switch off her laptop.

Rachel mentioned our story in a follow-up post in which she also gave the cafe some tongue-in-cheek tips on how to improve its business, including:

•  A new promotion offering a free hour's laptop use with every latte.

  New PR positioning and signage encouraging people to travel from miles to experience “Rotherham’s Rudest Cafe.”

• A blue plaque outside reading: “Entrepreneur and TV Dragon wrote her second book here.”
• A dartboard with a picture of Rachel on it, charging 50p for one dart, £1 for three.

Cafe staff insisted last week that they had only asked Rachel to turn off her PC after two hours’ use of free electricity and Rotherham Borough Council listed a string of initiatives they had dreamed up to revive the town centre.

Some visitors to Rachel’s blog backed her up, but many others turned on her, defending Rotherham, blaming Meadowhall for the town’s troubles or accusing her of being rude.

And in a nod to the surreal, one contributor suggested inviting X Factor finalists John and Edward to perform at the Riverside Cafe.

But the majority of Advertiser readers taking part in our online poll were right behind Rachel, with 89 per cent of those voting agreeing that Rotherham was dismal.

In a bid to show the town in a better light, rival outlet Cafe Rendezvous invited the Bakewell-based businesswoman—who claimed her laptop use had only cost the Riverside Cafe about 6p—to drop in on her next visit to the town.

Proprietor Mr Meares said in a Twitter message: “Rachel, next time you visit Rotherham, call at the Cafe Rendezvous (bus station), we will give you a latte/Belgian chocolates.”

Mr Meares said this week: “We would give her a really good welcome.”

The borough council’s new chief executive, Martin Kimber, also gave his views on the row this week, saying he was determined to see Rotherham work on its customer service and become a haven for small independent shops.

“It has to be a town centre for the Rotherham community and one that they identify with,” he added.

Martin Kimber on the outlook for Rotherham Council: See this week's Advertiser.

Your comments

Let's hope that she doesn't come back to Rotherham again if this is her view of the town, ok, we don't have much here any more, but being an outsider myself and newish to the town, I happen to like Rotherham

Davie

Cafe owner's coffee peace talks offer

BUSINESS “dragon” Rachel Elnaugh was invited back to Rotherham this week by town centre cafe owner Michael Meares, who promised her a warm welcome—and a free cup of coffee.

After hearing how former Dragon’s Den star Rachel was unhappy with the service she received at the Riverside Cafe in the Riverside Precinct, Mr Meares, who runs Cafe Rendezvous in the Interchange, contacted the Bakewell businesswoman via Twitter to offer her a free latte and some Belgian chocolates if she returned to the town.

Mr Meares, who told the Advertiser two years ago of his battle against steep rents, rates and VAT, said that he agreed with Rachel’s view that much of the town centre was dismal.

He added: “She’s not gone to the right area of town, though. The area around the bus station is more modern and a lot busier. If the rest of the town centre was like this area, it would be a lot better.

“If Rachel came here we would know who she was and give her a really good welcome.

“You have got to move with the times and in a lot of Rotherham that hasn’t happened. It’s like something out of Life on Mars.”

Mr Meares also invited new council chief executive Martin Kimber to join him for a cuppa, adding: “I would welcome him coming down and talking to us if he wants to change things.”