Staff at Brown’s Cafe in the Covered Market are looking forward to one of their busiest days of the year - May Morning.
The doors will be open from 6am for hungry revellers who have been up all night enjoying the celebrations.
While this is a special occasion - the cafe doesn’t usually open until 8am - in many ways it will be business as usual for this Oxford institution, which first opened in 1924.
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Father and son Agostinho and Humberto Freitas are originally from Madeira in Portugal, and have been the owners since 1994.
Humberto took charge in 2010 and has been busy ever since, making sure regulars get their coffees and cooked breakfasts.
There are, of course, other cafes in the market but nowhere else feels like a traditional breakfast cafe in quite the same way.
It’s five years since Humberto and his family enjoyed a double celebration - a five-star food hygiene rating and a Royal visit.
Prince Charles and Camilla called in to chat to customers although their schedule was too packed to stay for tea and cakes.
Humberto Freitas is now celebrating once again.
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“Our five-star food hygiene rating has just been renewed,” he said.
“I am delighted - it’s a very positive seal of approval and a reminder of all the hard work our staff put in, day in, day out.
“I’m feeling positive because it’s quite busy in the market, and I think the tourists are coming back into Oxford.”
Mr Freitas said he has seen some regular customers return who vanished during the pandemic.
“A gentleman came in this week - he was a regular - but I hadn’t seen him since last year. I’m pretty sure he stayed away because of the virus.
“Hopefully we will see more customers returning - the situation is looking much rosier.
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“Some of our customers come in at least twice a week and we are still here to deliver for the people of Oxford, the tourists and the students.”
Mr Freitas said he has a good rapport with other traders in the market.
“We get our bacon from Fellers and we try to source our food locally - our coffee comes from Cardews and our eggs from Bicester.”
Like other cafes and eateries, he has experienced wholesale food prices rocketing but is trying not to pass this additional cost on to the customers. After more than three decades in charge, the Freitas family is hopeful that business continues to be steady at the cafe where bricklayers eat their breakfasts next to university professors.
The Covered Market website says: “Browns Cafe is the original cafe in the Covered Market. Its popular with locals, students and tourists.
"You’ll find a warm welcome and a relaxed atmosphere in this no-nonsense cafe. They are famous for their mouth-watering apple pie.”
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