Barnard Castle’s Joan Whitely lives with dementia and is a regular at The Teesdale Restaurant, off King Street, with her husband Brian.
The 79-year-old sold handmade postcards from the eatery last week to mark its new “dementia friendly” accolade from the Alzheimer’s Society.
The pair moved up to Bowes 15 years ago but had to relocate to Barnard Castle in 2012 following a fire.
Mr Whitely said: “It was very stressful and we did not know much about this cafe. We started coming to here every day.
“If Joan and I are around town we know to come back here and meet.”
Mrs Whitely added: “I am welcome here.”
Proceeds from the card sale will go to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Owner of the restaurant Fay Meachen has a background in healthcare and explained how the firm’s path to dementia friendly status had evolved gradually over time.
“We had several customers come in suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s so we thought now was the time to do something,” she said
“Some of the other staff have been really interested in all the aspects of it.
“It’s being aware of what we need to do to accommodate those with Alzheimer’s, dementia and any sort of disability really.”
The Galgate car park restaurant has seen its staff trained to help understand perspectives of those living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
It also provides a safe haven for dale folk in need of a quick rest or somewhere to go.
Ms Meachen added: “We have got room upstairs and we have a lot of regulars who are in once or sometimes twice a day.
“If they want to chat privately there is a room upstairs available to them.
“We also have phone numbers we have used on several occasions to get in touch with families.”
Restaurant staff member Elizabeth Stephenson attended a dementia training session to help both her mother and the cafe’s elderly customers.
She said: “My mother had Alzheimer’s so I found it very helpful.
“The basic things like knowing how many steps it takes to make a cup of tea and talking about different colours on the floor.
“It’s living with it and realising you can still get out and do activities.”
Nicky Tulloch, from the Alzheimer’s Society, praised the cafe’s ethos.
She added: “People know they are not going to be judged – society is very bad at doing that even though it’s becoming more acceptable to talk about mental health, dementia and disability.
“There is still a stigma and people are not always as generous as they might be.”
A number of groups in Barnard Castle are working with the Alzheimer’s Society with the aim of becoming a “Dementia Friendly Town”.
Dementia cafes and “Games for the Brain” sessions have been well attended across the dale and Ms Tulloch said more firms were being signed up to the scheme.
She added: “We had a big launch last week and a lot of really good ideas came out of that.
“We have got a big dementia friends event coming up at the beginning of November.”
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