A PEEBLES couple have served up their last brew and are handing over the reigns of their cafe to their daughter.

After 17 years at the helm of the Ramblers Coffee Shop, located within the Castle Warehouse building in the Old Town, husband and wife team Kate (62) and Ian Litster (60) have decided to retire.

Before the opportunity came along in 2000 for the pair to take over the running of the cafe on the ground floor, the pair both worked in different departments of the Castle Warehouse store.

Kate was based in the children's and ladies departments, and Ian, who started at the store at the age of 15 as a junior and tea boy, progressed to run the men's department.

Following their retirement, the running of the cafe has been handed to their 39-year-old daughter Suzi Litster, who has left her job of five years as technical maintenance officer at SBHA to take up the new role.

The cafe will close it's doors tomorrow (Saturday, September 16) for a small revamp, and will re-open a week later on Saturday, September 23.

As part of her plans to put her own stamp on the popular cafe, Suzi, a type one diabetic for 29 years, has decided to create a carbohydrate counted menu for fellow type one's. To work it out, Suzi weighed numerous portions of foods and measured them all against the nutritional information supplied on the packaging and using the carb and calorie book most type one's are supplied with.

Suzi told the Peeblesshire News: "I'm thrilled to be taking up the opportunity to run the cafe. A couple of weeks after we re-open, I'm launching a carb counting menu for those living with type one diabetes. There's nothing like this around locally, although you can search online for larger chains nutritional info.

"The menu will be available to read on the tables, and I hope this will make for a pleasant and enjoyable lunch for people who normally have to weigh and count their foot every time they eat and drink.

"Aside from that, I'm not planning on making any drastic changes - the name and opening times will stay the same, but the cafe will have a bit of a refresh with a new lick of paint. I'm also planning on creating a new takeaway menu, plus a loyalty card.

"My parents have had a fantastic run at the cafe, and they would like to thank Castle Warehouse, plus the staff and customers who have supported them over the years. They have met some lovely people and a lot they now can call friends. I look forward to welcoming our customers back when we re-open."