New dessert bar opens in Newbury

Tops Treats has a treat for everyone

THE first week of a new dessert bar in Bartholomew Street, Newbury, has been a great success.

Tops Treats opened its doors on Friday, serving an array of freakshakes, megashakes, crêpes, waffles and mug cakes, with prices ranging from £4 to £6.

Marketing manager Michelle Baluk said: “The first week has been really, really hectic and busy.

“It has been well-received. There have been a lot of families coming in and people on Saturday and Sunday morning came in for waffles and crêpes for breakfast.”

Owner Sarah East, who lives in Newbury, got the idea for the dessert bar in April this year.

She arranged to run a marathon in Manchester as she wanted to visit a freakshake bar in the city afterwards.

Then she chose the unit in Bartholomew Street as an ideal location, owing to the regular stream of workers, shoppers and schoolchildren walking past the shop.

Freakshakes were initially created in Australia and started to gain popularity in the UK in the summer of 2016.

They are essentially a high-calorie, mega milkshake, which combines ice-cream, chocolate bars, cookies and even entire slices of cake.

Mrs East creates all the recipes herself, based on feedback from both customers and potential customers.

Some of the menu offerings include a Banoffee Mess Freakshake, which is a banana milkshake topped with toffee cheesecake, vanilla cream, toffee sauce, fresh banana and fudge pieces, or the Artful Dodger Mega Shake, which is a strawberry milkshake topped with jammy dodgers, strawberry sauce and vanilla cream.

Tops Treats also offers miniature versions of the freakshakes for children, as well as gluten-free and dairy-free products.

Mrs Baluk said: “There is something for everyone, aged one to 100, from gluten-free to dairy-free there is a treat on the menu for everyone.”