Our Team
Introducing Cathy Miller, owner of Café Chai, a local to Banstead for the past 35 years with a passion for people, and a love of food, interiors and hospitality.
Cathy says…‘coming from a Greek family, hospitality (and food!) is in the blood!’
Her background is very different to where she is today, having primarily worked in the finance sector. Having a coffee shop was always a pipe dream that would eventually come true with Chai. The dream was to create a warm and welcoming community hub for local people to enjoy and to inspire and reach every person who enters the café in a positive way. The ambition was to provide more than just a café.
Chai’s menu has been carefully researched and sourced using the finest local ingredients. The cakes are lovingly baked by small local businesses and supplied fresh each day and the coffee is supplied by Surrey roaster Beanberry, who offer high quality organic beans.
Cathy credits the majority of her success to the heartening support and loyalty of both her team and customers. This was particularly apparent during her first year of trading (2019/20) where she found herself, like many others, challenged by the Covid 19 pandemic which meant having to close 3 times during the year.
In spite of the many challenges during this first year of trading, Chai still managed to become a finalist in the Surrey Life awards in the Best Customer Service category. They also received a 5 star rating for food and hygiene and were recognised by Restaurant Guru for best café interiors!
Family is the most important aspect of Cathy’s life. She lives local to Chai with lovely husband Alan and her beloved cockapoo, Hector. She loves nothing more than to talk to customers about her three adored children, daughter Stacey and twin boys Jack and Callum who have all been bought up in the local area.
As Cathy always says…‘You reap what you sow and being kind and inclusive will ultimately bring you much to be proud of’.