Hello and welcome back to The Valleys Lead.
We’ve got a business story for you today, about the thriving La Bocata in Merthyr Tydfil. The owner told The Valleys Lead about the challenges and triumphs they have experienced this last year to mark the one-year anniversary of the shop’s opening.
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The Valleys Briefing
(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys. Anytime you have something you’d like to share, no matter how big or small, email laurencrosbymedlicott@gmail.com):
School transport cuts in Caerphilly have come into force as the new school year begins. The Valleys Lead covered Caerphilly residents’ concerns previously, but worries are being voiced again as children begin walking to and from school - sometimes up to six miles a day. Caerphilly County Borough Council argues it will continue to comply with Welsh Government minimum standards even after stopping free buses for more than 300 secondary-aged pupils who live within three miles of their schools. Independent consultants have deemed nine walking routes across the county borough as safe – but the council’s plans sparked an angry response from parents concerned about road safety, especially in bad weather and dark winter months.
A community volunteer in Pontypool spent last weekend repainting a car park after vandals painted offensive words and messages on its walls. “The upsetting thing is the language that was used,” said Dyl Delaney, who painted over the messages, which appeared to be aimed at individuals and referenced sexuality.
Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister and MS for Casnewydd Islwyn, Natasha Asghar, has written to Welsh Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor and health board chief executive Paul Mears, calling for immediate talks with Unite and a negotiated settlement regarding the continuing health visitor strike at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. Asghar said: “This dispute has now dragged on for six months, with no resolution in sight, and it is children and families who are paying the price.” She urged the Welsh Government and health board to “show leadership, get all parties back around the table and work urgently to reach a fair agreement.”
The Merthyr Tydfil couple who turned redundancy into a sandwich shop sensation
When Esther Steele’s husband, Ryan, was made redundant in 2025, the couple, who live in Merthyr Tydfil, asked each other: what next?
“We were both applying for jobs for him – for anything and everything – but nothing was coming back,” Esther, 46, told The Valleys Lead.
During a visit to Swansea, Esther and Ryan bought coffee from a “horse box” and wondered if they could do something similar, but selling sandwiches.
“The idea consumed us,” Esther said.
But after researching the idea and discovering that it was difficult to obtain a licence to trade from a food truck, they put it to rest.
“Then someone contacted me to say that a space had become available to rent near the college from a private landlord,” Esther said. “There is no way we could have afforded a space in the centre of town – buildings similar to what we felt we needed were reaching £2,000 a month in rent alone. We immediately decided to take the space on offer for our sandwich shop.”
Ryan had lived in Spain as a child until his early 20s and wanted to give the sandwich shop a Spanish theme. They would call it La Bocata – meaning “the sandwich” in Spanish.
His dad, a retired carpenter, willingly agreed to help them convert the office-like space into a functional restaurant.
“We all did everything ourselves to get the shop up and running,” Esther said.
With a background in marketing, Esther created content to attract Merthyr Tydfil residents and visitors to the shop, giving them sneak peeks of the menu, coffee and dining area.
“It wasn’t professional marketing, just very honest about what we had created and what was on offer.”
