Colin Davies RIP

Today is the funeral of the well known Colin Davies, late of Siop Nain, Well Street. Would you believe that he started the business there half a century ago. He was a familiar figure behind the till (though it was his wife who usually tended it). They both lived above the shop and Mrs Davies continues to do so. Before retiring, the Davieses ran the place for almost 40 years. During that period, very little changed. That included the menus. Davies was also something of a dark horse: at one point he owned a racy Subaru Imprezza car.  

Siop Nain was born into a very different world:

• People preferred tea rooms to coffee shops. Coffee tended to be instant. Siop Nain's then café formula was popular. Very popular. But so was the whole town. Tastes change, though. 

• We had medieval Wednesdays. I'm certain that the Davieses were something significant to do with that.

• Denbighshire disappeared and in its place we found ourselves in Clwyd. The borough and rural district councils yielded to Glyndŵr. That all changed again in 1996.

• People other than good friends addressed each other by title (e.g. Mr & Mrs). Colin Davies was Mr Davies. Now, Christian names are the norm.

• We had very little choice in terms of food shopping. And packets were weighed in lb and ounces. 

• There was no craft centre. The first arrived in 1982. 

• Chapels were fuller. Allied to this, there was so little swearing or blasphemy in public. Nowadays, it's the norm. Capel Bathafarn recent closed.

• All car parking was free. Then the Square began to see pay and display machines. The rest followed in the late 1990s. We can expect an increase in parking charges in April. 

Since Davies sold his premises and business, Siop Nain has been through a number of changes. The most devastating was the short period when it became Rupert's bistro. This deserved to do better than it actually did. Partitions were put up between the café and shop. 

The most recent changes at Siop Nain see the reinstatement of the till area on the traditional side. Note the bell once on the door

Siop Nain continued for cards and gifts. After an empty period, the café was filled by Candy Shack (from Clwyd Street). The proprietress then merged her Upper Clwyd Street café into the Well Street premises. Upon her own early retirement, the Siop Nain café and card shop reunited. Redecorated and revamped, it has recently reopened again as a combined entity. 

No doubt the Siop Nain café will find its feet this summer. It takes time. For now, though, most people seem to prefer other venues, some of which have extremely low or in one case zero hygiene ratings. 

Meanwhile, Siop Nain is still awaiting its rating. The predecessor employed the same staff in the same kitchen. They managed the highest 5/5.