A HUSBAND and wife are expanding their cafe business by opening another site in the city centre.

Vidya and Nick Pervez opened Sunflower Cafe on Sunbridge Road at the back end of last year.

After only 10 months, the business has become a great success and has motivated them to seize on an opportunity at another location.

The couple will open the second site on Church Bank – in the old Guzelian Cafe Bar spot opposite Bradford Cathedral – at the end of the month.

Nick said: “It is so exciting to continue to grow our business in this area. This city has so much potential.

“Sunbridge Road was our first stamp on the community and now it is great to be part of the regeneration.

“The last 10 months have been great, we have had such good feedback from customers, so when this opportunity came along we had to grab it with both hands.”

Sunflower Cafe has a fusion-style menu of British, American, and Caribbean cuisine.

From Vidya’s plantain pancakes and Desi breakfasts to Manhattan-style burgers and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, it is an ode to the couple’s international lives.

The owners say their new site will feature a similar menu with a little twist.

Nick added: “We are in the process of thinking of a name in this different environment.

“We want to create something a bit different.

“We will of course still be focussing on American and Caribbean food with that Trinidad and Toboggan twist from my wife.”

The married couple moved over to England from Queens in New York, a place famous for its internationally inspired cuisine and culture.

Nick began searching for his long-lost mother in London before bringing the family to Manchester, where he discovered his Irish roots.

But it is Bradford where they chose to follow their dream of owning a cafe.

“Quite a lot of people ask us, why did you leave New York to come to Bradford?,” Vidya, who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, said. 

“You never know where you’ll end up. It’s just an adventure. It’s just finding us and reconnecting [with Nick’s family] after 26 years, which would never have happened if we didn’t come to the UK.

“My husband is British American, we got married about 12 years ago. I decided I wanted to come across the pond as I wanted British kids.”