Darlington family-owned food van set to expand to new site

Mighty Bite, owned by Natalia Domaszk, 39, and her husband Daniel, 42, will open its new cafe in a unit on Red Barnes Way, facing McMullen Road, on Monday, October 5.

A Darlington family-owned food business Mighty Bite is expanding into new premises after growing from a black food van bought during the Covid pandemic. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The couple have lived in Darlington for 11 years and opened Mighty Bite in 2020 after Natalia was made redundant from her job as a breakfast chef at Crathorne Hall Hotel during the pandemic.

She bought a small black food van from friends in Edinburgh and began building the business, with Daniel joining two years later to serve customers while Natalia cooked.

The previous smaller van that the couple used to run their business from (Image: MIGHTY BITE)

Now the well-loved Darlington food spot is taking another major step by moving into a permanent unit.

Natalia and Daniel have spent about three months transforming the previously empty commercial unit into a café.

Natalia said the move was partly planned to allow the business to continue operating while she undergoes another operation.

She said: "I am going in for another operation and we want Daniel to still be able to open with cold sandwiches, salads, cakes and things like that so we don't need to close."

The couple previously had to close the van due to Natalia having surgeries related to her endometriosis and bowel issues.

Natalia, Daniel and their son Alex (Image: MIGHTY BITE)

They shared their experience at the time of being self employed and having to shut short term and the effect that can have on couples who run and own a small business together meaning they had no income.

Friends, customers and family rallied around them and a GoFundMe was set up to help them while Natalia recovered.

The new premises will continue serving Mighty Bite's existing food offering while introducing new options including protein shakes, smoothies, healthier food, chicken and rice, salads, cold sandwiches and Polish cakes and other bakes.

The café will have two tables and a bench-style breakfast bar for customers who want to sit in.

For now, the opening hours will remain the same as the food van, from 8.30am to 2pm Monday to Friday.

The business is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Mighty Bite food van located at Red Barnes Way in Darlington (Image: MIGHTY BITE)

Natalia said the opening hours could eventually be extended following the move.

The couple are also hoping the new premises will allow the business to grow further, with the food van potentially being sold if their lease is extended.

Natalia said: "If everything goes well with this extension we will sell this [the van] eventually."

The new café marks a major change for a business which began with a food van and has continued to grow since its launch in 2020.

Speaking about the move, Natalia said: "We are excited and stressed."

She added: "I think we have made a great job of the unit. It was a completely empty unit, only like bricks and roof and we have done it all out ready for opening and excited for people to see."

The couple said they were looking forward to opening the new premises and welcoming over customers while continuing to serve their loyal regulars too.