Couple overwhelmed by support for Lego cafe

A husband and wife who set up a Lego cafe said they were overwhelmed with the public support.

Mark and Kayleigh Parsons, from Telford, opened Brick and Beyond as a pop-up cafe in the town centre on Saturday, giving customers a chance to build Lego while they have a drink or a snack.

"I thought it would kind of be like our friends and family that sort of turned up to start with, you know, just those who feel obliged to turn up and support us," Kayleigh said.

Since then, the pair said they had been inundated with people wanting to come, and were now stepping up their search for a permanent premises.

The couple have run an airport taxi business since 2023, which they said took up a lot of time.

After encouragement from others, Mark decided to start making Lego sets to help relax.

"Running a business is 24-7, so people are like, you need to chill," Mark said.

"My ankles and knees are not good so I'm not able to go and play football anymore, so Lego was the thing that jumped at me."

The couple said they struggled to find a permanent location in time for when they wanted to open, so they operated out of Ironmasters Bistro, in central Telford.

Kayleigh said she had "come up with so many ideas over the years" but was glad her husband believed in her vision.

"For Mark to turn around and go 'yeah actually let's do this', it was like 'oh, even Mark's into this'."

Kayleigh, who is autistic and has ADHD, and said it was important to make the venue a "safe space" for all.

"Some people might have a diagnosis or they might be undiagnosed or they might just have that bit of extra sensitivity."

"Everyone should be able to enjoy what they want to do, no matter what.

"I was not terribly into Lego as a kid, I would have my head in a book constantly and so to have that sort of safe space is absolutely brilliant."

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