Allergico talks to: Coffee On The Corner

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many businesses felt the effect of the lockdown on their sales, with small businesses being particularly affected. We spoke to Coffee On The Corner, a café in Kenilworth about how Covid and lockdown rules have affected them and what they’re doing to survive in these very challenging conditions.

1. Why was Coffee On The Corner set up?

Coffee On The Corner was set up by myself, my partner Sam and his Mother Penny last year. We all had dreams of owning our own businesses and working for ourselves. With our love for baking and coffee, we put our heads together and decided to go for it, leave our jobs and set up our own little shop.

2. Why is it important that there are allergy-friendly options on the menu?

Between the 3 of us, we have struggled with some food intolerances including dairy and gluten. We know the struggle of going out to eat and being left with one suitable option or none at all. Also people are becoming a lot more aware of their dietary intolerances. More and more people are also choosing the vegan lifestyle. We wanted to be somewhere with 3, 4, 5 options to choose from, and normalise dietary requirements like that.

3. What allergy-friendly options do you have?

We primarily serve homemade cakes and a few light lunches. We have at least three gluten free options for cake each day. We also have 2-3 vegan options.

4. What response have you had to the allergy-friendly options?

We have had a great response to this and it's really made us see just how many people avoid certain allergens! Customers really like the fact that they have a few options to choose from. We have had wonderful feedback on many of our gluten free cakes.

5. What is the most popular item on the menu?

One of our bestsellers is our Lemon & Blueberry cake which contains no gluten and no dairy! But you’d never know..

6. How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your business?

I'm sure I can speak for all businesses when I say we have felt the brunt of Covid-19 but hopefully we are over the hill now. There have been worrying times particularly at the start/height of the pandemic. But now that people are getting out and about again, we are starting to see more positive effects on our business especially with the 'Eat Out To Help Out' scheme back in August.

7. How does it feel being able to open again?

It feels amazing to be open again and welcome back all our regular customers that we missed so much while we were closed! We really appreciate all those little things a bit more now.

8. Did you find the Eat Out to Help Out scheme in August was good for your business?

Absolutely. We have noticed trade increase by about a third on those days, which is amazing! We got a lot of new customers that have never tried us before, and hopefully they will return!

9. As a small business, what has been the biggest challenge in terms of Covid-19?

I would say the biggest challenge has been dealing with the uncertainty during the lockdown period. No one knew how long it would be for, and what kind of support to expect, for how long people would be fearful of going out to public places.. As a very new business, we had to count our blessings that we had a few months of trading before we were forced to close. I think the new measures will be around for some time, so we have to learn to adapt to a new way of life and carry on the best we can.

10. How can people continue to support you and other small businesses during this time?

Every little helps and I think people are really thinking twice about where they put their money into, even if it’s just £2 on a latte. Small independent businesses need all the support they can get during this time, and will benefit the most. We have really noticed customers making an effort to support local small businesses rather than the chains since the lockdown.

Where to find Coffee On The Corner:

Where to find Coffee On The Corner:

16 Warwick Road,

Kenilworth,

CV8 1HE

Get in touch!

Email: allergico.magazineandblog@gmail.com

Facebook: Allergico Magazine and Blog

Instagram: @allergico.magazineandblog

Twitter: @allergicoblog