A cafe has shut in Abingdon after its owners retired after 14 years.

The Lounge Cafe in Bath Street closed its doors at the weekend, and there is now a notice on the door thanking all the loyal customers.

But the cafe is expected to reopen soon as the owner of the games shop next door and his family are planning to reopen it, and run it as a cafe and as a venue for games nights.

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Pete Langston started out with a market stall and now run the Clockwork Dragon shop, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year.

He said he has agreed to take over the cafe and its neighbouring space Gallery 46, which is sometimes used as a pop-shop for hire by local businesses.

Mr Langston said: "Steve and Mar ran the cafe for 14 years and when they told us they were retiring we were very sorry to see them go.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) "But we also thought there could be an opportunity for us to expand what we are doing here.

"There is a growing demand for the games sessions we run - on some nights we get 30 people coming along and having the cafe space will give us more room."

Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons, and Dragons are games attracting a following among the gaming community in the town and Clockwork Dragon is at the centre of bringing people together.

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Mr Langston said the former Lounge Cafe would initially be used as a space for games sessions, and then reopen as a cafe in the new year.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) It could be run as a games cafe in the evening while in the daytime it would operate as a friendly inclusive cafe for all ages.

Mr Langston is hopeful that the expansion will build connections in the community, and increase footfall in Bath Street for all traders.

A note on the door from Steve and Mar, the former owners, says: "We would like to thank all of our super customers who have given us so much support over the last 14 years.

"Mar and I cannot express our gratitude enough to all our many regular customers who have become friends over the years. We shall miss you all dearly."

Earlier this year a new mini-supermarket opened in Bath Street.

In June, Santino Hamze, originally from the Lebanon, moved from London to open a new ice cream parlour in the street, with a Lebanese takeaway next door.

The father-of-one is running the business with wife Nikola and they have taken a five-year lease on the listed property, which contains a historic well.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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