FCB Coffee to open in Paddington.

FCB Coffee are opening in Paddington

FCB Coffee’s latest site will open in the iconic Paddington Station, bringing speciality coffee to West London.

FCB Coffee started a partnership with Network Rail in 2020 and are one of the first independent coffee offerings in stations. Serving sustainably sourced premium coffee on the go alongside handmade seasonal food, FCB Paddington say that they are leading the travel sector into a new generation of coffee known as the 5th Wave.

Already with outposts across London and the south east, FCB are one of Network Rail’s chosen partners, and opened their first collaborative venue in December 2020 just outside London Bridge Station. The new shop will be housed on the concourse within the arches of the original Paddington station building and will be FCB’s second Network Rail site and their second lockdown opening.

Their exclusive partnership with Woolwich-based PLOT Roasting means they showcase some of the best coffees from around the world that are expertly roasted in South London. Alongside the usual choices they will have a single origin guest roast on the menu each month, and an array of seasonal drinks such as affogato and ice lattes in the summer, house curated warmers in the winter and a unique decaf that uses a sugarcane process. Customers will be able to buy a selection of beans from the shop, which can be ground there and then, so they can enjoy a cup of FCB coffee at home, or give it as a gift.

The FCB deli chefs create seasonal menus and partner with local bakeries. For breakfast they serve dishes such as coconut porridge, vegan sausage ciabatta and signature breakfast smoothies followed by a selection of salad pots, sandwiches and flatbreads, including falafel and hummus, VLT (vegan BLT) and a New Yorker with pastrami, Emmental, gherkins and mustard. For those with a sweet tooth they have a selection of cakes, traybakes and pastries including carrot cake, super seed flapjacks and pastel de natas.

Every FCB site has a distinct identity with a unique interior that is tailored to its location, whilst being part of the wider FCB brand. The new site will be at the crossroads where old Paddington meets the new Crossrail. The interior will be contemporary with industrial detailing including an oak window seat bar, concrete counter tops and steel frames throughout.

FCB Coffee opened its first kiosk in Brighton Station in 1998 and now operate in eight locations across the UK serving speciality coffee in the travel sector.

200 Degrees to open in York

Nottingham based 200 Degrees Coffee Roasters have announced that their fourteenth coffee shop will be in the historic city of York and will open in late June.

The 82-seat shop will create 15 new full time and part time jobs in the heritage retail setting of 68 Low Petergate, just a short walk from many major tourist attractions including York Minster and The Shambles.

“This shop should have been open last April but we’re finally here and we hope our independent attitude and relaxed way of doing things will add to this fantastic area as everything returns to normality, whatever that is,” said 200 Degrees director, Tom Vincent.

“We’re keen to join the local business community in York and support the thriving visitor economy in any way we can, possibly by treating some people to a coffee and one of our delicious vegan brownies. I’m also hoping to use my new joke about the shop being close to a shambles as many times as possible.

“There will be lots to like including our hand roasted coffee and food that’s freshly made in our kitchen every day. We’ll be open early for our usual range of breakfasts and concentrating extra hard on maintaining the high quality of our takeaway service.” 200 Degrees was set up by Tom and his business partner, Rob Darby, in 2012 and has 11 ‘distinctively independent’ coffee shops as well as its Roast House near Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The company has already announced two further openings, including one in the Hyphen Building in Manchester, for this year.

The specialist coffee roaster and wholesaler has also recently welcomed Will Kenney as its commercial director. Nottingham-born and now Leeds-based, Will Kenney brings with him 20 years of experience in the coffee sector, having held senior positions in the industry supporting some of the high streets best loved coffee operators. At 200 Degrees, his responsibilities will include managing and driving all commercial aspects of the business, particularly its wholesale offer and the online sale of beans and coffee machines.

“Since the first 200 Degrees coffee shop opened seven years ago, I have admired the company from afar – watching as it expanded from its Nottingham base to new locations, into wholesale and e-commerce markets and evolving into the much-loved household name that it is today,” said Will Kenney.

“I feel my experience complements 200 Degrees’ vision for growth and I’m looking forward to helping to share our knowledge of running successful coffee shops with our wholesale partners, working with the wider team to increase our reach and offer to customers - while staying true to 200 Degrees’ core values.”