New Pendle based cafe and sandwich bar is already a hit with customers

"I decided I didn't want to pursue my career in the beauty industry anymore due to the chemicals I was subjecting myself too.

" I chose to go into the food industry because I had quite a lot of experience from previous jobs and it also gave me the opportunity to still be with the public," said Lea who has recently opened dog friendly The Kabin cafe and sandwich bar in Gisburn Road, Barrowford.

And so far the response from the public has been overwhelming and Lea is loving her new role.

The Barrowford Kabin was born from a little sandwich hut of the same name on the outside market in Todmorden, where Lea was born and bred.

Lea's aunt Gina ran the Todmorden based Kabin which she then passed on to her son Jake who ran it for nine years until covid hit and he made the decision to close it and move into the building trade.

Lea re-opened the little Kabin and loved it but decided she wanted to go bigger.

"So with that, I started the search for a new premises and one closer to home too. Barrowford, in my mind, was the perfect place and I’d set my heart on it. It just had to be the place where I could make my dream a reality.

" I even knew what I wanted it to look like and it also had to be a place that felt like 'home from home.'

"Providing that setting would also benefit my customers. I want them to feel welcome, warmed, relaxed but more importantly, looked after.”

A mum of two daughters who is also a grandmother to two, Lea is also a dog lover and in her spare time a keen photographer, a hobby she took up after seeing an exhibition in Bradford where the photographer caught the rawness of backstreet life in the city.

Lea added: "I’m a little bit of an artist too and it’s on my agenda to display some of my work and photography on the walls of The Kabin for customers to see. "