The trailer is the brainchild of Naomi Lowe, 41, who was inspired to set up Nibsy’s after going gluten-free herself for health reasons.

Naomi, who has lived in Reading for 20 years, said she was working for an investment company in her twenties when her doctor told her she must switch to a strictly gluten-free diet.

“It kind of grew from there really… that’s when I started thinking I would love to have a coffee shop in Reading.”

After pondering the idea for several years, Naomi finally took the leap in 2014 and opened Nibsy’s cafe on Cross Street, Reading’s “first and only” coffee shop dedicated to being 100 per cent gluten-free.

After seven successful years running the coffee shop, Naomi passed it to new owners in summer 2021 in order to spend more time with her family (the new owners renamed the cafe Yaylo, and it remains gluten-free).

But after several years off, Naomi realised she missed working in hospitality.

With her kids now a bit older, the mother-of-two decided she wanted to return to helping other people on a gluten-free diet access “great offerings”.

So in August this year, Naomi took the leap again and reopened Nibsy’s, this time as a coffee trailer.

The trailer, affectionately dubbed ‘Beryl’, was initially temporarily located near the back of the Blade office building while the council worked to prepare space for the trailer outside the train station.

The new venture suffered an unexpected set-back in September when someone broke into Beryl overnight with a crowbar.

The break-in was caught on CCTV, but the suspect has not been apprehended.

There wasn’t much cash in the register for the thief to steal, but the damage he did to the trailer left them unable to lock-up and Nibsy’s had to pack up for several weeks while the trailer was repaired and had special reinforcements fitted.

Nibys’s then briefly reopened near Forbury Gardens, outside the Carluccio’s restaurant, as the station spot was still not ready.

After another ten day hiatus while they moved the trailer and got everything ready, Nibsy’s was finally able to open for business outside Reading train station on the first day of December.

Nibsy’s outside Reading train station (Image: Suzanne Antelme)

“It’s not been a straight line [to get here],” Naomi said with a chuckle, but the trailer is all ready to go just in time for Christmas, which is “such a relief”.

The break-in was “a shock”, but the mother-of-two is pragmatic about it all: “To be honest, I kind of just accepted it. I’m glad it happened when we were still in our early days, still building up, and I still had the buzz and excitement of it all being new. It could have been worse.”

Naomi bakes many of the trailer’s gluten-free offerings herself, often starting work bright and early at 4am or 5am.

Nibsy’s first week outside the train station has been “great”, Naomi said, adding she is “completely dedicated” to running the new trailer.

“Having more choice for [people on gluten-free diets] is still so important, and I’m delighted to be back at such a great location. I feel like its come full circle.”