Wales’ first self-serve, build-your-own cheesecake shop has opened in the Rhondda Valleys. Moo, which allows customers to build their own cheesecake and pick from a range of bases, toppings and sauces, opened on Church Road, Ton Pentre, at the beginning of November.
The business was set up by 28-year-old Louise Fisher and Kelsey Mathieson, from Pontypridd, who first dreamt up the idea of opening their own self-serve cheesecake shop when they were working at a frozen yogurt shop while travelling in Australia last year. Louise remembers Kelsey asking her: “How good would it be if this was self-serve cheesecake instead?”
”Frozen yoghurt shops are everywhere in Australia so I think Kelsey just thought of it because she is obsessed with cheesecake,” Kelsey said. “So we just decided that when we got back to Wales, we would focus on making it happen and that’s where we are now.”
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The pair took the plunge to set up Moo in Ton Pentre using money that was initially intended for a house deposit, despite not having any previous business experience. Before Moo, Kelsey was working in bus mechanics and Louise has kept her job in recruitment, working at the shop on top of her 9-5 on evenings and at the weekend.
There are plenty of different toppings to choose from -Credit:John Myers
-Credit:John Myers
While Ton Pentre may not seem like the obvious place for an up-and-coming dessert business, Louise explained that after looking at other options, they decided it was the perfect place. She said: “We looked at a few places. We considered Cardiff, which is where we envisaged opening originally; Pontypridd, because that’s where we are and then the valleys.
“We found in Cardiff that even though there will probably be a greater footfall, there is also more competition and it’s a lot more expensive. We don’t have a business background or lots of money – it just didn’t fit our budget. So then it was Ponty or the valleys and Ponty just didn’t feel right.
“When we were looking at the valleys, the shop in Pentre came up and it was perfect. The price was right and everyone just seemed really friendly. As soon as we saw the place, we could just see it working here. It was kind of accidental that we ended up in Ton Pentre, but equally, as soon as we were there we were like ‘yes, this is it’.”
The core of the business is the build-your-own cheesecake bar, where for £5.95 you can choose from biscuit bases such as Oreo, digestives and Biscoff before adding Moo’s freshly-made cream cheese. You can then load your cheesecake with as many toppings as you wish, from mini marshmallows, Dairy Milk chunks and fresh strawberries, to Jaffacakes, M&Ms and fizzy sweets. There are also a range of sauces to choose from.
Everything is freshly prepared at the shop, including their own cream cheese recipe -Credit:John Myers
-Credit:John Myers
As well as cheesecakes, Moo also serve milkshakes and waffles. For the latest Rhondda news, sign up to our newsletter here
Since they have opened, Louise and Kelsey have been thrilled with how things are going and the response they have had in the Rhondda. In particular, she said that evenings have been busy with young people coming to Moo to try the cheesecake with their friends. “That mirrors what me and Kelsey did when I first moved here from Salisbury. We would drive around trying to find places similar to us so it’s lovely to see,” Louise explained.
She added: “Everyone’s just so lovely and word of mouth spreads really quickly in the Valleys so if we can give a few people a good experience, the idea is that they will tell everyone else and we can grow from there really. So far, it’s surpassed expectations. It’s been so nice to have people say that they’ve really enjoyed it or it’s the best cheesecake they’ve ever tasted.
“We feel like we’re growing week by week. We just want to keep going so hopefully we are here forever.”