A FAMILY-RUN café has opened in Oxford after the couple left their day-to-day jobs to chase their dreams.

Erion and Gemma Kalemasi, who have four children together, have opened Charm Café in James Wolfe Road.

Mr Kalemasi used to work for ODS and Mrs Kalemasi used to be a teaching assistant. The pair were waiting to find the right location to pursue their dream jobs.

READ MORE: No one to fix Abingdon monk statue: 'I get knocked down...but won't get up again'

“We always dreamed of having a café,” said Mr Kalemasi. “Finally, we managed to find the right place.

“We both gave our daily jobs to pursue our dream. Before opening our cafe, Gemma gave her job up and started to work in a cafeteria to gain the right experience required. I already have experience from a previous business.

“This was a huge project for us, quite challenging and it took a long time to complete it the way that we wanted it. It hasn’t been very easy.

“We had lots of ups and downs to get to where we are today, but it was all worth it in the end especially when you see the results of all our hard work.”

READ MORE: Ukrainian refugees get new life start opening new bakery in Oxfordshire

The café serves coffee, smoothies, milkshakes and a variety of food and cake. It is open on Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm and on weekends from 11am to 8pm.

Mr Kalemasi added: “We are very proud of what we have created.”

-

Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Abingdon, Didcot, Wallingford and Wantage.

Get in touch with her by emailing: gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @geeharland