Confirmed: Iconic café in Northampton set to close its doors for good after nearly 60 years of trading

The owner of an iconic café that has been in Northampton for around 60 years has confirmed it is closing down.

The Super Sausage café in St Leonard’s Road, Far Cotton, has been sold off by the Bacon family, who have run it since the mid-1960s.

Co-owner Simon Bacon told the Chronicle and Echo: "We have sold the property. New owners are going in but I'm not 100 percent sure what they are doing.

"It is one of the firsts businesses the family started with and we're very sorry for having to let it go – we started in the mid-1960s so it's been an awful long time.

"My uncle first opened it and my father bought it from my uncle. We've got the It's a Gift shops throughout the town but the Super Sausage was the first one my father started with.

"It's a sad occasion. It's unfortunately just one of those things."

It is believed the café, well-known for having a pink American car on top of its roof, will be closing down at the end of this month (August).

Independent councillor Julie Davenport, of the Delapre and Rushmere ward, says the closure of iconic businesses in the area “hurts”.

She said: "There has been a huge amount of change in Far Cotton in the past few years – with the university, the influx of HMOs, abundance of takeaways and hair salons opening – that every time a well loved business closes it does hurt and reminds us of how different things are.

"Far Cotton and Delapre is an amazing community whose residents have lived here for many years who have seen a lot of change, especially since the university opened.

"They are not just shops or cafes, they are an important part of our community and our way of life.

"I’m sure the new shops/cafe staff will become the same to us in years to come but at the moment each business that leaves seems like the end of an era.

"We still speak lovingly about It's a Gift and the Nationwide Bank that we miss so much."

Residents in Far Cotton echoed councillor Davenport's sentiments on social media.

One person wrote: "No more hangover breakfasts. I love this place. Sad times."

Another commented: "NOOOO, NOT SUPER SAUSAGE."

The former Sofa King building, next door to The Super Sausage café, has recently been demolished and will have 40 flats built in its place.

Approval was granted by the council in March last year for the old Tivoli Cinema - which has stood empty for several years - to be demolished.

The plans will see the building of a retail unit at ground floor level of the site as well as 39 car parking spaces and cycle storage facilities.

Nationwide also vacated its branch on St Leonard’s Road back in 2019, with the building being turned into an illegal cannabis farm by criminals before police shut it down in June 2020.