Step inside the former Handy Hardware in Shaw Heath in Stockport today and you’ll hardly believe your eyes. This time last year, the family behind the DIY shop sold up after 60 years in business, having become a much-loved part of the local community.
Now, instead of floor-to-ceiling shelving packed to the rafters with everything from cleaning detergents and mops to gardening tools and sticky tape, you’ll find a piano, coffee roaster and local artwork proudly hanging on the walls. One item from the original store remains though - a freezer, which the new owners have converted into a mini library.
“It was a hardware store for many years and we’ve turned the fridge into a bookshelf for self-published authors so they can get their works read, but if you plug it in it still turns on,” explains Charlotte Josephine, who, along with her partner Daniel Dudek has transformed the space into Nocturne Cafe - a space for classical music fans, musicians and people who love good coffee. “People come in and will say, ‘the last time I was here I was buying nails’ and to be fair it has a lot of history around it.”
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After selling up, the family behind Handy Hardware handed over the keys to newcomers Charlotte and Daniel, who wanted to create a space where classical musicians in the area could play and connect with other creatives over a good cup of coffee. To create a point of difference from other cafes around Shaw Heath and Davenport, the new owners have live pianists playing everything from Chopin and Mozart to Debussy throughout the day, and go the extra mile to roast their own coffee in-house.
“We opened the café in September last year but it was quite a longstanding project before then as we had a Kickstarter and a Crowdfunder to get it off the ground and we were going around Stockport giving out samples of coffee in preparation for its opening,” explains Charlotte.
“During that time I toured around Manchester speaking to every coffee shop I could to really figure out the best of each quality of product that I could bring here to make a small but very focused menu on the classics in particular. Our coffee is a lot more freshly roasted than anywhere else in Manchester, just because we have this lovely 1kg roaster, when most places use 20-60kg roasters.
“It can be incredibly difficult to get right so we only roast three coffees, but the Mexican bean has had a really good reaction - the locals seem to really love it. We’re also willing to go the extra mile to do something a little different from everyone else.”
Both Charlotte and Daniel are trained pianists, with Daniel having taught for some years in Stalybridge, and you can find him tinkering on the keys most days. “At the time we were setting up the place, Daniel was learning The Nocturne by Chopin and as I was already thinking about a blue and sensory-friendly colour scheme and look, I thought 'let’s make it nocturnal'.
“We’re aiming to bring classical music to a wider audience because you don’t hear classical music in restaurants or cafes that much," Charlotte said. "I think it’s lost the influence it had on culture and there are some beautiful British composers, and composers all around Europe and America that you just don’t hear, so I thought to bring in a piano, and anyone can come in and play on it - from teachers to delivery drivers.
“It’s a nice atmosphere to have when you’re drinking a coffee. I honestly can’t think of anything better. There’s other people who have done similar but I don’t think there’s many people who would sit and play piano for as long as we do while running the business as well.”
Offering three coffee varieties - Mexican, Honduran and Kenyan, Charlotte reckons it’s some of the best around. Having worked as a barista in coffee shops in Manchester, she certainly knows her stuff. “I’m looking to work with small farms in the future but for now it’s a refined selection, and I would actually say our decaf coffee, which is the Mexican blend, is the best in Manchester because we put a lot of effort into it and roast it a lot lighter.”
As well as playing the piano and roasting the coffee, Charlotte also spends one day a week baking the sweet treats for the cafe’s customers. “In our first two weeks we were told by our bakery supplier that we were too small of a business to supply to which was a real hard hit.
“So I thought having been a part-time pastry chef before, I could do it and I could control what we put on so I could ensure we always have a vegan and gluten-free option, as that’s incredibly popular around here. We have a chocolate cake baked with our coffee, vegan cinnamon rolls and handmade French croissants.
“I don’t think you’ll find hand rolled and laminated croissants anywhere around here as it's very labour intensive. It’s 55 layers of butter and pastry, but I really enjoy working on those.”
The space, which features the aforementioned bookcase, as well as artworks from local artists, is designed to be a hub for the community and creative melting pot. “We’ve got our 100 per cent self-published book shelf, and I actually wrote one of the books on the shelf too. I think it’s a great way for people to get their books read," Charlotte adds.
With support from Bespoke Coffee in Heaton Moor, who gifted Charlotte and Daniel their counters, and 200 Degrees' head barista, who gave them a hand with their roasting process, they are well on their way to becoming a treasured community spot, as Handy Hardware was before them.
“We’re a little quiet at the moment and there’s a busier coffee shop around the corner, but I didn’t want to go somewhere that’s busy - why copy everyone else?" Charlotte says. "But despite that, we regularly have musicians from Stockport Symphony Orchestra popping in, and we have people travelling from far away to visit us, especially musicians, as well as coffee lovers. I believe they make return trips because there’s nowhere really like us.”
The Nocturne Cafe, 143 Shaw Heath, Stockport SK2 6QZ
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