The UK train station cafe charging £12 for bread and £6 for coffee

A newly opened café beside 's historic train station has ignited a heated divide in this normally quiet town.

The Creamery Café, a self-described artisan hotspot, has stunned locals with its steep prices, charging £12 for focaccia bread and £6 for a single coffee.

Many residents claim that the upscale menu is driving out ordinary patrons in favour of wealthier visitors from .

Since opening earlier this year, The Creamery Cafe has marketed itself as a trendy, elevated alternative to typical train station fare. Its launch came shortly after a beloved and affordable coffee van that previously served locals disappeared from the area.

Although there is no evidence of direct competition between the two businesses, locals lament the shift, feeling priced out of a place that once catered to them.

"It's all too gentrified for round here," one local resident told .

"I'm not paying almost a tenner for a tea and bacon sarnie while waiting for a train."

Others complain about the price of a simple breakfast, with a croissant and coffee costing upwards of £6.80, a sum they say resembles London prices more than local expectations.

The café is the latest venture tied to South African businessman Koos Bekker and his wife, Karen Roos, who transformed nearby Hadspen House into The Newt, an elite rural retreat known for hosting celebrity guests.

The couple has expanded their portfolio throughout Castle Cary's High Street, purchasing historic properties including the much-loved George pub, which will close for renovation in 2025.

For many, these changes signal a shift toward a town designed for affluent tourists, not the long-standing local community.

At The George, frustration is palpable.

"It's gone down like a broken combine harvester," one local pub-goer complained. "This is a real locals' place, and the news it's been bought out by people at The Newt hasn't gone down well."

Bekker and Roos's acquisition of properties along Castle Cary's High Street has sparked fears that local culture may be replaced by high-end businesses catering exclusively to outsiders.

According to real estate reports, Castle Cary's average home price is now at £352,000, a 23.9 percent increase above the national average, adding to worries that the town may soon become financially inaccessible for longtime residents.

Still, some villagers see the changes as an opportunity.

"If it brings money and tourists down here, what's the problem?" said a local named Dan, emphasising that the town needs to embrace progress.

"Some people need to realise that this is progress, and it's not the 1950s. We need to wake up and get real because if we don't, we will be left behind."

Daily Express has approached The Creamery for comment.