AN award-winning coffee shop that was threatened with closure has been taken over by the coffee kings of Carlisle.

Luke Jackson and Bruce Brown from Foxes Coffee Lounge and Bruce and Luke's on Abbey Street now run Coffee Genius on St Cuthbert's Lane.

They have taken over from Lynn and Mike Steadman who previously ran the cafe.

Luke announced the news on his Facebook page.

He told the News & Star: "When Bruce and I saw the To Let sign above the door of Coffee Genius we thought it was sad.

"Carlisle doesn't have a big coffee scene and it's important to have independents. They are needed to give a city its soul"

Coffee Genius, which has an outdoor seating area, is a four times winner of Best City Cafe at the annual Carlisle Living Awards.

Luke said: "We absolutely love what Coffee Genius does and we are going to add to its energy. We want to develop and progress it as we take it forward.

"We like the slow brews that it does and the high energy brand and there's scope for some of our doughnuts too."

All of the staff at Coffee Genius are keeping their jobs.

Luke said: "They're an amazing team and we're looking forward to working with them. The people are as much a part of a cafe as everything else. You find that people often go to a cafe just to see the people that work there as much as they do to have a coffee."

The future was in doubt for the cafe last year when Mrs Steadman announced the lease was not being renewed.

Coffee Genius has been open for more than five years and has a loyal clientele.

St Cuthberts Lane, where Coffee Genius is situated, is part of the Crown & Mitre Estate.

Prior to it becoming a coffee shop, the building was once home to The Anchorage - a pensioner's cafe.

Management made the heartbreaking decision to close the cafe in 2010 because of spiralling utility bills and the increasing cost of food.

The entire contents of the cafe were put up for auction including tables, chairs, pictures and equipment.