Cosie's cafe and soft play in St Thomas Road Brentwood opens

Kelsie Verlander, 34, who co-owns Cosie's with her husband Jason, said the couple had taken a risk to open the establishment yesterday (April 8).

Jason and Kelsie, who attended Brentwood County High School, have two young children and Kelsie said Cosie's was an investment for their future.

Cosie's, in St Thomas Road, marks the couple's first go at owning and running such a business.

"It's been a hard couple of months, but it's all for the future," Kelsie said. "It’s totally out of our comfort zone, but we’ve done a lot of research and we’ve had lots of help from friends."

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Cosie's will operate from Monday to Friday between 9am and 3pm, and employs three other people: a manager, cook and waitress.

Kelsie said she feels connected to people in Brentwood and wanted to provide a safe space, especially for parents.

"It's a nice community and great to be part of," she said. "We wanted a place for people to relax and enjoy good food, a hot drink or a prosecco if they want while the kids have a little play.

"It's hard work being parents," she added.

The 34-year-old, who lives in Hutton with her family, said she used to be a cook having studied at catering college.

Jason works as a travelling gas man, Kelsie said, and was instrumental in opening Cosie's outside his day job.

"This is the next step in trying to do better for our family and hopefully it's a success," she said.

Kelsie said they were "very lucky" when the Covid pandemic hit, which has allowed them to open their first family business.

"We had the funds to be able to try this luckily," Kelsie said. "I know that not everyone does, so we're very fortunate that we had the opportunity to take this step and run with it."

The Brentwood mother, who said Cosie's gave out free lunch bags during Easter, added that customers will be able to have a complimentary hot drink at an April 20 launch event.