THE owner of an award-winning cafe has expanded her business by converting an old newspaper kiosk into a delicatessen.

The kiosk is opposite Tania Webb’s popular Marmalade cafe in Eastern Road, Kemp Town, Brighton.

The kiosk closed in July and has been boarded up with metal shutters for months.

But now Tania has bought it and breathed new life into it.

After extensive renovations she has just opened her new store, also called Marmalade. It is packed with home-cooked food, chutneys, coffee, sandwiches and Christmas hampers.

She said: “We bought the old kiosk to create something that would complement our existing cafe and give our customers more options. The idea is that you can come to the cafe to have your coffee and then just pop over the road to the store to buy all you need for dinner. Or if you are on the move you can still grab a coffee and a bite to eat on the go from the new store.”

Tania prides herself on the fact that all the food in the new store is homemade.

She said: “It’s great being able to give people something to take away that is home made and healthier than some of the options in supermarkets. Some of the hot meals we offer are mac and cheese, shepherds pie and moussaka.”

Marmalade Store sells organic milk in glass bottles for customers which, if returned, are collected and re-used by the milkman to avoid waste.

Tania, who helped set up popular restaurant chain Bill’s, said: “We have a lot of home-made chutneys and other Christmas treats in time for the festive season. We are not usually too busy in December but we seem to have had a good reaction so far.”

Now regular customers are looking into the old kiosk’s history.

So far Tania has been told it used to be a depot for the old electric buses that used to travel along the current number one bus route.

Tania’s Marmalade cafe has won gold and platinum awards for the UK’s best independent sandwich retailer award.