Two Newport men have set up a cafe with a difference in the Malpas area of the city.

Parc Pantry, in Larch Grove, Malpas, has been open less than two months, but it is already making a name for itself in the area.

Matt Ellis and Ant Cook are the duo behind the project, which is more than just a cafe. Everything in the shop is for sale - not just the cakes and coffee, but the tables and chairs. And they hope the space will be used by the community for all manner of events including birthday parties, business meetings and workshops.

Matt and Ant are both from Bettws and have known each other since nursery. They attended the same primary and secondary schools and they ended up studying the same course at what was then UWIC.

The product design graduates then went their separate ways but joined up again recently with the plan of opening a business, which has turned into Parc Pantry.

And they are helping the fund the project through the Kickstart Scheme, which sees customers and other interested parties donating a sum of money, starting from a couple of pounds. For that, they will get something back from the business be it a cup of coffee every day for a month or use of the building for an event.

Ant said: "It took a good few years working in a good few industries deciding there was a niche for us to do something like this. It was just finding out what we wanted to do which took the time."

The duo looked at premises in Newport city centre in which to base the business. But while the rents were affordable, the business rates were prohibitive and that is why the cafe has opened in Malpas.

They haven't ruled out opening a second branch of Parc Pantry in the city centre at some point, but they want to make sure the business has a good grounding before making any overly ambitious plans for it.

Matt said: "We have tried to keep it all really local. The tables were built in Newport, the metal legs are handmade here in Newport. The bread is made in Cwmbran. All this helps the local economy. We said originally that if you could buy it in the big supermarkets, we didn't want it on our shelves. I think this means we have got a much nicer product overall."

Before opening, the pair did a lot of work on social media building the brand and the awareness that something interesting was coming to Malpas.

Since opening they are delighted with the way the community has welcomed them.

Matt said: "The response has been fantastic."