Sisters who used to visit cafe as kids now own venue at former railway station

More than 20 years after they used to visit as children, Sophie and Esther Morton have taken over The Railway at the old Wombourne railway station and rebranded it as The Platform.

The station - officially called Wombourn by the Great Western Railway - was opened in 1925 on the line linking Wolverhampton and Stourbridge Junction. The route was not successful with passenger services ceasing after just seven years and the line being closed to all trains in 1965.

For many years the cafe at the station was known as The Railway, and most recently had a Harry Potter theme until Sophie and Esther bought it last September.

After running it under its previous name until Christmas Eve, the pair redecorated over the festive break, reopening at the start of January as The Platform.

"It's just because we have completely changed the interior," said Sophie, explaining the new name. "It's a complete rebrand so we thought we would let people know it's something different.

"We are more of a brunch/lunch type of place now."

As children, Sophie, 34, and Ester, 29, used to walk down the former railway line, now the South Staffordshire Railway Walk, before visiting the cafe.

"When mum and dad had friends over we would be excited as we'd walk to the cafe and you knew you would have a nice sandwich," said Sophie.

"It's crazy to think all those years ago we would go down there and now it's ours."

Since relaunching, the sisters have reported a good response from new customers and long-standing regulars.

While Sophie has been in hospitality for a number of years, and owns a restaurant in Bridgnorth, Esther was a social worker before taking over The Platform.

"After Covid she was stressed and wanted to go in a completely different direction," Sophie explained, adding that her sister had always wanted to own a little cafe.

When they found out through family that previous owner Lucy Campbell was looking to sell, they moved quickly to take it on.

As well as running the cafe, Esther also bakes all the cakes and cookies, with Sophie adding: "She's busier now than she was before. She absolutely loves it."

And while the cafe has a new name and a new look, Sophie has promised one thing has remained constant; the toast.

"The toast is still the same, everybody loves the toast," she added.