Cafe 25a, Ongar Road, Brentwood American restaurant opens

Cafe 25a was opened this month in Ongar Road by Brentwood-based owners Jeyda Johnson and her husband James, who made their restaurant dreams come true. 

The pair first launched four years ago during lockdown from a food truck business they called The Brentwood Food Truck.

Jeyda said: “At the time we thought it would be a good idea to start a food company and so we purchased our food truck. It kicked off and it was a great success.

“We were mainly doing more events type of things with it."

Their business saw them book events for The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) and cater for Love Islanders birthdays, including Joseph Garratt’s in 2020.

According to Jeyda, they were even in discussions with Lakeside Shopping Centre in West Thurrock to trade in the food court.

The pair have lived in Brentwood since 2017 (Image: Cafe 25a/Jeyda Johnson) However, their success was put on hold when Jeyda became seriously ill after falling pregnant. 

Years later, Jeyda says their business is back "like (it) never stopped". 

She said: "We've been talking about it over the years about getting back into it, but it was really hard trying to find a premises. 

"We've started up again and it's like we never stopped. It's just gone crazy all over again.

The restaurant serves American-inspired breakfast and lunch (Image: Cafe 25a/Jeyda Johnson) "Everyone's really happy with everything so we just wish that we'd done it sooner.

“It’s been quite overwhelming to be honest just trying to keep up with everyone coming in, and just making sure that everything is perfect."

The restaurant serves American-style dishes, including mac n cheese, buffalo flavours and homemade sauces. 

According to Jeyda, the restaurant opening was a childhood dream, after her upbringing saw her grow up surrounded by a family of restaurant owners and learning to cook at the age of 10. 

The restaurant officially opened to customers on September 9 (Image: Cafe 25a/Jeyda Johnson) READ MORE: Barber shop in historic market could be turned into housing

The 30-year-old said: "It's always been my dream to have a restaurant and cafe. 

"From my family, we've always been feeders. It just makes me really happy to know that we've finally done it and that we're able to spread our love in our food.

"In Brentwood there isn't really anything like this. We're just really appreciative of everyone that has supported us from the start until now."