A QUIRKY café owner who set out to create a friendly, welcoming space for all said it was never in her “wildest dreams” the business would grow to the success it is today.

The Tea Cosy in Hurstbourne Tarrant is in the running for a second award this year, having already won Best Café in Hampshire in the Muddy Stilettos awards in May.

The tucked away destination, now in its fourth year, is a finalist in the Hampshire Women in Business Awards in the Bricks and Mortar category celebrating shops and outlets known in the community.

From princess parties to Harry Potter Book Nights, ice cream for dogs and tea-infused gin and Prosecco to hand, owner Jenni Danks said the spot attracts both the young and older generations.

The mother-of-three said: “Going out on your own can be quite intimidating, I wanted it to be customer focused, we’ve got a lot of regulars.

“I just wanted to create somewhere nice and friendly people can come to.

“It just goes from strength to strength we have really, really nice customers and with the awards they got behind us which was so lovely.”

The Tea Cosy along with a number of other Andover businesses were nominated for the awards, but the independent tea house now stands as the only business from the area voted through by the public to the final stage.

Jenni still does not know who put the shop up for the award but knows she has solid support from regulars, who often write in letters of positive feedback and even donate tea cosies to add to the unique collection.

As the word of mouth has spread, the shop attracts visitors from across Hampshire and even Germany, who came in especially for The Tea Cosy’s much-sought after “Friday cake”.

The 39-year-old added: “It is just a happy place. I don’t think you could come in here with all these colours and be sad.”

Jenni will be going to the awards night at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on November 17, with her “massively supportive” husband Clayton, and assistant manager Sasha Greenly.

Jenni said: “It is quite overwhelming. It’s hard to imagine winning it, I’m up against stiff competition. I want to say thank you to all the customers who voted for us, it does mean a lot.”