Eskimo Coffee first opened its door in July 2018 on Derry's Great James Street.
Since its launch, the coffee was going from strength to strength under the watchful eye of local food consultant Mark Kent.
In March 2020, after two successful years, local woman Una McCole was set to take the business over but, due to Covid-19, it was put on hold until June when the business was takeaway only.
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Boasting a selection of tasty goods - and of course, coffee - the vegan and gluten-friendly cafe offers a wide range of food including sandwiches, scones, cakes and a full Ulster fry if requested.
Speaking to MyDerry , Una – who has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality sector – told us what it was like taking over a business during a pandemic.
She explained: "I have been in hospitality for 30 years with experience in creating and developing my own coffee shops, restaurant and B&B's. The idea of stepping into a brand that was already developed, and that I loved, was an easy decision as I knew a lot of the hard work had been done.
"Eskimo opened its doors in July 2018 by Mark Kent with the help of my sister Jeanette.
"Mark is a local food consultant and he came up with the brand. He had travelled extensively in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and the term "Hygge" struck him, as it was a word used to encompass the feeling of belonging, warmth, comfort and homeliness that he wanted to bring to the coffee shop.
"The word Eskimo was a memorable friendly name that encompassed the welcoming Arctic lodge feeling he wanted, so Eskimo was born.
"When I decided to take on the business, I felt absolutely no need to change the brand, as I loved it - it was different and I loved the welcoming feel of the shop and the beautiful shop that Mark and Jeanette had created. Eskimo already had developed a wonderful clientele and I had no intention of upsetting them."
Una said despite all of her experience she still felt anxious about taking over - revealing she had to master a brand new skill.
"Even after 30 years of experience, I was nervous, it was a new role for me," she said.
"I had to learn to bake - but fortunately Jeanette had great patience but that wasn't something you learn overnight, and I am still learning but that is good, every day should be a learning day and it most certainly is in Eskimo.
"I was also very lucky in that Mark and Jeanette had a great team working with them, so they were all trained and ready to go when I opened the doors.
"It obviously was a very nervous time with Covid and we had to be diverse - so I decided to make Picnic Boxes - which were a great success that summer, and now we do boxes for nearly every occasion."
The Derry business owner said since the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions the support they had received had been "amazing".
Una added: "The support of the Derry and Donegal people, as always, has been fantastic.
"I am originally from Donegal, and there are quite a number of Donegal people working in the city, so I cannot leave them out.
"Running your own business is not easy, and honestly, the best thing [about owning a business] is that nobody can tell me what to do."
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