The new fuel station was opened in late 1960.
The new cafe opened in the spring of 1961 in time for the summer season.
Inside the new cafe
[we’re not sure when these photos were taken, but it would appear that the ‘flowers’ on the radiator covers and wall feature (photo on the left) were moved to the boxes at the top of the central pillars (photo on right). Or, perhaps, the first ones were real flowers, and the second ones were plastic!]
[Mrs Rudge ready to take your order. (Note the Freshburger Grill on her right – Necton Cafe was way ahead of McDonalds! And how many cups of tea might you expect to get from just one of those teapots?)]
The cafe was very popular with commercial transport drivers. In particular, Metal Box lorries were a common sight on the fore-court, but on the occasion of the following photo, it was Birds Eye drivers, and others, that were looking for refreshment.
The garden at the front of the cafe:
For the cafe, the next 6 or 7 years proved to be very busy. On Saturdays, during the summer season, the cafe would typically open at 3am, and remain open until 6pm. It would not be unusual to see 20 coaches parked at the side of the cafe at 5am, and a long queue outside the front entrance. The holiday makers didn’t have much time, so it was essential at these times for the cafe staff to serve the visitors very quickly – in the kitchen, there was a well practiced routine to prepare and wrap sandwiches; pour tea into cups (already loaded on trays); and keep the shelves in the serving area stocked with sweets, snacks, cigarettes etc.
The coach drivers, many of them from the Wallace Arnold coach company, also needed to be looked after. They were treated to a cooked breakfast and priority seating in a separate area.
As a result of this high level of activity, the tables could quickly disappear under the piles of discarded paper plates, plastic cups, and scrap paper. Clearing away the rubbish was as important as getting the customers served.
At the end of a busy day, a major clearing and cleaning operation would be put into effect, which included polishing that tiled floor. The premises were then ready for a repeat performance on the Sunday, but opening mid-morning, and closing late afternoon – Sunday would be much less busy, with fewer coaches, but more car travellers.
The family moved into the first floor flat during the summer of 1962, and the old bungalow, workshop and cafe (now obsolete) were sold. The business now concentrated on the cafe and fuel station.
The Rudge family and their business suffered a major blow in April 1964 when Mr Rudge died suddenly.
Mrs Rudge now ran the business on her own, and it continued to flourish – particularly, the cafe side. So much so, that when her daughter asked that the cafe be used for her wedding reception on a Saturday in the summer of 1966, the response was that a Saturday in the summer was too important for the business to lose. So the wedding was brought forward to the spring of that year, which was not the reason some had assumed!
Memories
“I recall the day that the bypass was first opened. My father only knew the road had opened because the traffic was travelling on it – no one from the authorities had thought it necessary to tell my father in advance of the opening. Whilst the new petrol station was built, it wasn’t fully operational. I believe we were serving petrol the next day”
– Rudge, Bob (Robert)
“I remember that I really enjoyed the roast beef, mash and gravy at Necton Cafe. The beef was really tender, and the gravy made it all very tasty. Unfortunately, my father was NOT too impressed – he was the local butcher, and believed his beef was by far superior to anything I’d be served with at Necton Cafe.”
” But then, I also fancied the eldest daughter! ”
– Rogers, Mike
“I remember several big stars of the day – Adam Faith, the Tremeloes, and others – coming to the cafe on their way to shows in Great Yarmouth. Caused quite a stir among the staff and customers!”
– Betts, Elizabeth
“There is one thing I shall never forget about working in the cafe in the early hours on a summer Saturday – the juke box seemed to play just two records repeatedly – hour, after hour, after hour! They were ‘Speedy Gonzales’ by Pat Boone and ‘I remember you’ by Frank Ifield. At the time, I never wanted to hear those records ever again. Now . . they bring back fond memories of my youth!”
– Rogers, Mike
“Occasionally, we had private parties in the cafe for birthdays, a wedding reception, and my parent’s silver wedding anniversary. For these events, the juke box (an Amy-Continental) was switched over to free play (somehow), and soon the party was in full swing.
Whatever the age group of party, there were many innocent games played. I recall a ‘winking’ game that involved a circle of chairs with the girls sitting on the chairs on the inside of the circle, and the boys standing behind them. There was always one chair left empty, but a boy still had to stand behind it (girlfriendless, or ‘Billy-no-Mates’). He then had to wink at a girl and she was supposed to run over to his empty chair, but her current ‘boyfriend’ was allowed to try and stop her. If he was successful and stopped her running then ‘Billy-no-Mates’ had to try another girl and repeat the process. I don’t recall how this game came to a conclusion…if it ever did?”
– Rudge, Bob (Robert)
[See our ‘Album‘ page for photographs of this game in progress.]