WITH voting for The Northern Echo’s Best Coffee Shop now well and truly open, your favourite needs your support!

Every day over the next ten days, we will be featuring one of our top ten finalists, chosen by our readers.

Today we hear from Andrew Storey, owner of the Wandering Duck in Grange Road, Darlington.

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Since opening in December 2016, ‘The Duck’, as it’s affectionately known, has gained a solid reputation as one of the town’s favourite restaurants.

Andrew built his experience in hospitality working at Rockliffe Hall before moving to the Black Olive delicatessen in Grange Road, when the opportunity came up to expand into a larger premises.

He said: “Customers at the Black Olive often commented that they wanted somewhere to sit, so when the place became available a couple of doors down, we took it on.”

Initially setting up with a colleague from the Black Olive, Andrew now runs the Wandering Duck on his own.

He said he took inspiration from venues like Mockingbird in the Purple Pig in Yarm.

He said: “We wanted to give a brunch offering as there wasn’t anything like that at the time. It has opened up a lot in Darlington since then with a lot of other brunch options, but we were one of the first.

“We are definitely more food-centred than coffee – but we do bake our own cakes and are as much a place to meet for coffee and cake as a full brunch.

“Currently we have a chorizo and avocado special with hollandaise which is proving popular.

“We like to offer something new each month for our regular customers, but we also have several dishes that have been on the menu since day one.”

Andrew said he and his staff are now gearing up for a busy Christmas period.

“Every day in any school holiday is like a Saturday for us. It’s busy, but I enjoy it like that. We thrive off it – it makes a nice atmosphere inside.”