The Yard on Glebe: Owner Letesha Dean sells Booval cafe with new owner to take over

After 15 years in the hospitality industry, Letesha Dean will head in a new direction despite admitting the move was heartbreaking.

The Yard on Glebe owner Letesha Dean (left) has sold the popular Ipswich cafe.

The owner of a popular Ipswich cafe said her “heart just sank” when she got an offer to buy her business but she will move on to a new dream after almost 15 years in the hospitality industry.

Letesha Dean, 28, took over The Yard on Glebe in March 2019 after running the Little Red Espresso coffee cart.

She set about crafting her own vision - upgrading the kitchen and building a new menu - which has really hit the spot with the community.

Letesha with son Artie Winston Bell in the Booval cafe.

Ms Dean has lived in the Lockyer Valley for almost a year-and-a-half and recently moved from a five acre property to 60 acres.

She has made the difficult decision to sell the cafe with a buyer very quickly snapping it up soon after it was made available.

“I think my footsteps are taking me in a different direction,” she said.

“Hospitality has always been my heart and my everything. I’ve gotten back into horse riding. Now we’ve got cattle. I live an hour away now (from the cafe). The drive was getting a bit difficult for us.”

Ms Dean wants to run a produce store closer to her property near Mulgowie.

For her loyal customers, she will still be a friendly face at the Yard for at least another two months to assist the new owner with the changeover.

“I want to try something different to test the waters and my comfort zone,” she said.

Ms Dean, who started in hospitality at the age of 15, said it was a bittersweet feeling to be moving on.

She said the new owner is an Ipswich local who plans on building on all the hard work Ms Dean put in.

Ms Dean said it wasn’t an easy decision to move on after more than two years at the helm.

“When I got an offer that someone wanted to buy it my heart just sank,” she said.

“It’s emotional and sad because it’s a huge part of my life.

“When she said she’ll buy it I thought ‘do I want to sell it now?’

“It’s gone from an OK business to a very profitable cafe. I’ve created it how I wanted to create a cafe. It will be sad to let it go.

“It’s stressful selling it because I really love it.

“I believe (the new owner) wants to do everything I’ve been doing. Keep it the same hours and everything.

“I just want to say thanks for the support from everyone, especially during these hard times of Covid and all the help from the staff I’ve had. It’s just been a great journey.

“(Son) Artie and myself will miss you all heaps.”

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.