ONE of the town's most popular coffee shops has been inundated with praise since nominations for the Reading Retail Awards were opened.

Mia's Coffee Shop, located at Harris Arcade in the town centre, has received more than 100 feedback forms for the prestigious business contest.

Tracy Powell, owner of the Mia's, says it has been all about serving fresh food at a reasonable price since taking over from Piazza Cafe one year ago.

With the prospect of being named as a finalist and perhaps the overall winner in her category, Tracy explained how 'it would mean the world' to succeed in the retail awards.

She said: "I have worked every day since setting up and I have three children to look after. We have a small team, but we all work incredibly hard to serve freshly made food at a good price.

"I will not serve my customers something I am not prepared to eat myself, or that I would not serve to my family.

"I am not doing processed food like other places. I will not do it, even if I go bust, I refuse to compromise.

"We give a great one-to-one service and we are intimate with all of our customers and all of our food is homemade. Nothing comes out of a tin and the only fried food we do is chips.

"It is brilliant to be recognised. If I won it would make getting up early six days a week with no holiday for the last year totally worthwhile. As an independent small business it would mean the world to even be named as a finalist."

One of the ways in which Mia's has attracted such a loyal following is to open early for the town's bus fleet.

Drivers flood into the coffee shop every morning from 7am, before the public, to get their fix before heading out onto the roads.

Entry forms for the Reading Retail Awards are available at Broad Street Mall and The Oracle. Nominations close on Monday, July 10. Visit readingretailawards.co.uk for more information.