COFFEE C A P I TA L
By Tom Daniell
Cheltenham is dubbed “the coffee capital” of the UK. There are 19 big name coffee shops in Cheltenham, such as Costa, Starbucks, SOHO Coffee and Café Nero. There is also a number of independently owned cafe’s which are directly competing with them, places such as School House Café, The Boathouse and Global Footsteps.
The mass production of these branded coffee shops is having a long lasting negative effect on local businesses, mainly cafés. The branded shops take away business from potential customers as well as being detatched from the community. The sense of community is far greater in locally owned coffee shops, for example School House Café source their food locally as well as host events such as Comedy Night to showcase local talent.
“School House Café is a community focused cafe in Cheltenham. It has been designed for everyone. Bring your bike your laptop or buggy. Bring a friend or two or three or come by yourself and enjoy some peace and quiet from the day. We want to bring people together over a fantastic coffee before a lecture; a tea after dropping the little ones in school or a fresh smoothie over lunch. We also have a selection of pastries, cakes, breakfast bits and plenty for children to choose from. Cheltenham is a town full to the brim with culture both old and new. Come and create in the cafe. This space inspires freedom for you to dream. Our dream was to create a space that caused community, a space that brought life, that brought hope, that brought people together. The School House Café is an expression of that dream, which we hope you will come to love and enjoy.”* *Taken from The School House Café Website.
“The philosophies behind In The Park evolved from a conversation CEO and Founder, Susannah had when she was working as a seasonal catering assistant in ITP’s now award-winning Central Cross Café, back in 2010. It went along the lines of; “Wouldn’t it be great to open all year round? Why shouldn’t a park café be as good as a high street café? What about putting on events for families, bringing the community together? What about free blankets, newspapers, water for dogs, lost property service, and community notice boards? What about home made cakes, freshly ground espresso, real hot chocolate?” Seven years later and Susannah’s story has been well documented in the local press. Finding herself out of work when the café closed for the winter and on hearing that it was going out to tender, she spent weeks pouring over library books on setting up a business. After being shortlisted and after several rounds of presentations to the local Council, she and her two business partners were successfully awarded the catering tender and began trading in March 2011. In The Park was founded independently by Susannah in 2014 to take on new business opportunities, and at the end of 2015, Jenny Moss joined the company as Director of Innovation and Investment with an exciting shared vision for the future of park cafes in Gloucestershire. In 2016 Jenny and Susannah relaunched ITP as a multiple premises operation incorporating park leisure activities, building investment relationships with organisations such as the Lawn Tennis Association. Now running multiple park cafés, tennis courts, a boating lake and a golf course and employing around 60 staff; the two are kept pretty busy at In The Park’s new head office but are always happy for staff or suppliers to pop in for a coffee and a natter.”* *Taken
from In The Park website.
There are two CaffÊ Nero’s in Cheltenham that are 0.2 miles away from eachother. This illustartes that big brand coffee chains are overpopulating town centres in a bid to gain more commercial success. Having a coffee shop of this size so close together is not unique to Cheltenham and is a big problem for local independent cafÊs.
In Cheltenham there are 14 different branches of Costa. In a survey created by GloucstershireLive it asked the people of Cheltenham in 2016 if a new store was needed. 72% of people that answered said no. Costa is the larget coffee chain in the UK with more than 1,000 stores and the second largest coffee chain in the world. The need for more Costa branches in Cheltenham is unjust yet there continues to be plans put in place for more. The potential for new, exciting indpendently owned businesses are being taken away with every new commercialy branded store or chain being built. When you’re in a Costa you could be in any town in any place across the country. It offers no individuality and no sense of a relationship is built with the customer. Where as with places such as School House CafÊ you create a connection and a sense of belonging in the coomunity.