Four friends who moved to Nottingham over lockdown are opening their first coffee shop together on Mansfield Road in the city with the hopes that it may lead to other shops in the future. Punch Coffee will open on Monday offering coffees, brownies and sweet treats to the local community.
Ben and Kellie Bradley with Adam and Amy Jones combined their expertise in catering, food, construction and interiors to develop the shop which will open on Monday, September 12 at 8am. The former barber shop has been transformed with a brand new blue and coral pink look, leafy green plants and artwork along with brand new signage above the door.
The couples attend the Trinity church across the road and Amy is training to be a vicar. The two buildings are totally separate but the team expresses their faith by being generous and welcoming. They are hoping to provide a space where the local community can drop in to have a chat, get some support and a strong cup of coffee.
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"After we relocated to Nottingham, all four of us got chatting and dreaming together about what we could do. Ben and Kellie know interiors and construction while Adam and I know catering and food so we put it together," she explained.
"We spotted there were empty units here so I called and it felt like a huge open door for us. We loved it here so we started to meet up to talk about how we could move in here."
She added: "In terms of Punch, we thought it would be amazing to have something happening on this street as there is so much life here. We feel like the whole city walks by and we've seen that as part of the congregation of the church here. It's all sorts of walks of life as everyone knows Mansfield Road."
When it comes to getting set up, Ben and Kellie's background in construction and interiors meant that they have been able to take on a lot of the work themselves. While stressful at times, the result is the beautiful light and welcoming feel to the cafe.
"It's been a lot of hours but we have done it ourselves. We didn't have any running water when we started with minimal electrics so we have gone in from scratch. We re-boarded the walls as they weren't in a great state so everything you see is brand new. We've been bringing our kids here every day during the summer holiday. It's been a labour of love but it's beautiful," Kellie said.
The couples have plans for the food but are starting out with sweet treats although their secret weapon has got to be the melt-in-your-mouth, chocolate brownies. There are also plans to develop vegan treats and lunches down the line once the cafe has got up and running.
Amy said: "I married my husband for his brownies so every time we argue, I think of the brownies! We are going to have breakfast and sweet treats as we want people to drop by and have something that is affordable and easy. We don't want to have anything pretentious or complicated."
"Over time, we would like to do lunches but we are conscious that people are usually on their way somewhere on this street so we want to be a place they can grab something without having to wait. It's going to be muffins, pastries, brownies and cookies."
There are big plans in place for the café with the hope that it could be the first of many but for now, the friends are focused on getting the doors open on Monday.
"We are dreaming of there being more than one as it's our little dream. For the four of us, it would be amazing if there were several in the city but that's more in the long term and we want to learn what people in the city really need. There is a tough winter coming so we want to look at how we can support the community or be a warm or affordable place for people to go," Amy said.
When it comes to launch day, there is a lot of excitement but a few nerves too. Kellie is looking forward to having a presence on the high street and being a part of the community.
"I love having a presence on the high street and we've got to know some of the locals already. It feels like people are really excited about what is to come and a bit more life being injected into the road. It's all about building the relationships and having good conversations," Kellie said.
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