It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a store so successful that at its peak it was selling a coffee every 30 seconds.
But that's exactly what Lauren Henry is doing. She has announced she will be closing her original Common Circus coffee cafe and retail homewares and gift store on Brooks Parade, Belmont, on February 12.
She opened the Belmont store on October 25, 2014, six months after moving to Newcastle from Sydney with her partner Scott. The store, which has served Glee brand roasted coffee since day one, has been a hit since it opened, tapping a community starved for both good coffee and a sense of belonging.
Within a short time, Henry added smartly-curated homewares and gifts to the offering, making it an even more attractive community gathering point for passersby on the east side of Lake Macquarie.
Three years ago, Henry opened a second store, on Dixon Street, Hamilton, which is much larger and focused on the retail products (it also serves coffee, pastries and a light menu).
In 10 years, Henry's businesses have made it through COVID lockdown measures, remaining open throughout. She's also had two babies with husband Scott - Lottie, now six years old, and Dusty, seven months old.
As she leaves the Belmont business, Henry will renew her focus on building her remaining Common Circus store, the flagship outlet in Hamilton.
"I have some pretty big dreams in this space," she said during an interview on Monday at her office upstairs in the large Common Circus building in Hamilton, "So I think change-wise I really want to get creative now. This space also lends itself much more to a retail space than Belmont. Two very different beasts, as you know. Over there, it's coffee grab-and-go, and that continuous flow of community. Whereas here it's all about the retail space and the coffee's almost that little side part to it that complements but it's not the main show.
"So, for me, it's going to be playing to my strengths, which is the retail side, and being creative and that online game. When I say big shifts, it's going to be around what this space should be creatively and I think we have the capacity to be one of the best retail stores in Australia."
Henry spoke to each of her Belmont store employees personally when she decided to close the store. Several decided to stay with the location, which will be operated by Glee Roasters from Tuesday, February 13.
Henry has also been spending time with customers at the Belmont store since the announcement that Common Circus will cease trading there, and she is rather overwhelmed by how important the cafe had become to clientele in their daily lives.
"The rewarding part, of 10 years of building this, is sit in the place and find out what people have got out of it," she said. "It has been interesting trying to wrap your head around. Essentially, it's a coffee shop, so why is it so large?.
"I think it's that over a 10-year period, so many people have been through such significant parts of their life - death, marriage, illness, all sorts of things. I think they totally associate it with that space because of the chat, the connection. Not so much always with the staff, but whoever they had the conversation with in that space."
