THE OWNER of Penarth’s multi-million pound Beachcliff development has announced ambitious plans for its newest addition, Crazy Café.

Richard Hayward, the businessman whose property also houses Restaurant James Sommerin, one of just seven Michelin star restaurants in Wales, intends to make Crazy Café not only the UK’s finest bakery but also a social hub for the people of Penarth.

“We’re trying to make it as close to perfect as we can get,” said the 66-year-old property developer. “When people come here, they get the best. We cook everything to order, everything is homemade or is local, Welsh produce and it’s all fresh.”

Last week, the café opened its new takeaway service and as of Sunday, June 18, has also started serving alcohol - something Mr Hayward hopes will increase the appeal of the café.

“On the weekends, we want to have a general party atmosphere here. We want live music and hopefully we’ll barbecue in the Summer months. It’s not going to be like any other café I’ve seen outside of London,” said Mr Hayward.

Mr Hayward explained that he had taken a degree of criticism over the name ‘Crazy Café’, as well as for his use of graffiti and modern art.

“If I’d made it very plain and called it ‘The Esplanade Café’ would it have been any better or worse?” he said.

“The truth is it wouldn’t be any different - it’s just that it’s funky. I took a lot of criticism initially, but now people are saying “wow, that’s a good name”, because people are remembering it.

“They say graffiti is downmarket. I think that’s rubbish. Graffiti is an art form of the 80s and 90s which has become quite cult, would you say Banksy is out of date? Why not make it something different?”

An ice-cream parlour, ‘Krazy Cones’, is set for development later this year, along with a wedding reception venue which will be built above the café.

“It’s taken us nine years to get this far,” said Mr Hayward: “but now nobody doubts I can do it.”