A couple who run a successful cafe and restaurant in Keswick town centre have been forced to close and sell up for medical reasons.
Richard Walmsley is to undergo open heart surgery at the end of this month and his condition means that he and his wife, Wendy, can no longer continue running Thyme Bistro in Museum Square.
The couple have run the popular eatery for six years but were forced to slow down the pace when 61-year-old Richard suffered a heart attack in January 2023.
Last year he was given a defibrillator pacemaker and has undergone regular tests and scans since then and earlier this year was told that he would need to undergo open heart surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
“We are extremely disappointed to be closing,” said Richard. “It’s not through choice. We feel very disappointed that we have had to make this decision and take this action. We have loved this place and the people. People have come into the restaurant as customers and ended up as friends.”
“We opened just before Covid and been through thick and thin and been very popular among locals and tourists but unfortunately this is the end of the road for us.”
Richard is feeling apprehensive about his upcoming surgery and said come the day it will be quite terrifying.
He said that the surgeons have explained the risks involved adding: “There are more risks not having the surgery. The procedure they are going to perform has only been around for a couple of years.”
He added: “Up until this heart problem I have never taken a day off . I have never been ill. It was quite a shock. I feel that I still have much to give. I love what I do. I have been called a workaholic and would like to think that I would do something afterwards but on a smaller scale.
“We moved here from Preston and lived above the restaurant for four years before we bought a house in the town. It’s a place we have grown fond of and we love the people of Keswick.
“The people here are fantastic. Not only the customers but all the staff. I would like to thank them all for making the restaurant as successful as it was. It’s just a real shame that it’s ended on a bitter note but it’s something out of our control.”
