It's a bold step to open a small independent coffee shop opposite a high street giant. Butler's Coffee House is just across the road from Costa Coffee in Radcliffe-on-Trent but Mel Seaman has every confidence that the new business will be a success.
And if the first four days are anything to go by, she seems to be onto a winner. With just 15 seats it's not long before it's a full house and, as soon as one set of customers leave, there's more waiting to take their place.
Opening in the village, in a prime spot on Main Road, marks an expansion for Mel, who opened Butler's Coffee House in Bingham in 2017. Growing the business was always part of the plan but it had to be the right location.
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She said: "Trends have changed since Covid and I have seen the Bingham site getting busier and busier in terms of takeaway. I think we saw an opportunity and a gap in the market in Radcliffe. We have always had an eye to expand but we were very picky on where, wanting to go somewhere we know."
To some she'll be a familiar face in the village, having run The Chestnut pub - just 500 yards down the road - for six years until selling up in 2019 when she became a mum. Despite opening slap bang in the middle of a cost of living crisis, Mel believes a visit to a coffee shop is still an affordable treat if recent trends are anything to go by.
"People who drink good coffee or want good quality products are still going to go out for those sorts of things. We haven't gone crazy on the menu because I don't think people can afford it or maybe have time restraints.
"We used to open until 5pm at Bingham and we have found the business isn't there. It's more in the morning, things have changed so much. Brunch is really popular."
Butler's is supplied with coffee by Nottingham roasters Outpost. "A good high quality coffee house is what we wanted to bring," said Mel. An Americano is priced £2.80 and a cappuccino is £3.20 - the prices loud and clear on the white tiled wall behind the counter of the contemporary-styled cafe with custom-made tables and chairs and a wooden display cabinet with bags of Outpost coffee for customers to try at home.
The brunch menu is straightforward with crowd-pleasing staples such as Danish pastries, croissants, toasted teacakes, American pancakes, and breakfast sandwiches. Lunchtime is all about sandwiches with a choice of low GI spelt and beetroot, pumpkin and chai, white sourdough and gluten-free bread.
Fillings include chicken BLT, ham and smoked cheddar, tomato and mozzarella, and falafel and hummus. There's also soup of the day - on this particular day it's tomato and basil.
"The menu is slightly smaller than Bingham, partly due to the kitchen size but also figuring out what people want - I'd rather start a bit smaller than go big and people might not want exactly the same. It took us a little while to find our feet at Bingham so I guess it's similar here," said Mel.
The cakes are made in-house and the display at the counter is sure to sway customers that they can squeeze in a sweet treat. Blueberry bakewell, salted caramel brownies and cherry blondies sit side by side with flapjacks, scones and cinnamon buns of generous proportion.
She added: "It's these kind of treats people come out for that they can't necessarily make at home. Quite a few are vegan. Our brownie is always gluten-free. We have noticed here already in Radcliffe people have been asking for it more. Baking gluten-free now the flour is so good you can't often tell. We'll find our feet and find out what people want."
The variety of sponge cake will rotate. The other day it was lemon drizzle, currently flying off the shelf is coffee and walnut.
Customers range from pensioners, young people and former office staff working from home who turn up with their laptop to enjoy some human contact. "We see people daily. That's another thing that's changed - people working from home." said Mel, whose husband Richard, a project manager, helped her set up the coffee shop.
"It's nicer hours [than the pub]. It's earlier mornings... I say that but there were early mornings at the pub because of deliveries. We had our first child in 2019 so I think we knew then it would have been very hard to manage so it was the right time to sell.
"Just focussing on coffee, the more family-friendly hours was definitely the way to go. I've always been in hospitality and my parents were in hospitality. I love the atmosphere of a coffee shop - that's what we like to recreate. It's somewhere people can sit, have a chat, I don't think those two tables know each other," said Mel, nodding towards a couple of older customers having a conversation.
"You can feel quite comfortable, you can come in on your own. We get a real mix of ages. It's quite a nice environment. If a place is too big it can feel quite lifeless so even if there's just one person here in the morning having a coffee you can still hear the machine, there's still a bit of noise going on which warms the place up and makes it feel a bit more welcoming."
Mel said the reception so far at Radcliffe had been very welcoming. "It's been amazing so far. It was nice people know us from our days at The Chestnut but I think people are so excited to have a new coffee house in the village.
"Costa obviously do what they do. They're not an independent and more people now are shopping local and supporting independents so I think that was our key. We're focusing on the space we've got and serving nice coffee and just offering something different to the village. People have been really supportive."
The coffee shop is dog-friendly inside and there's a dog bed, treats and a water bowl for pets to refresh as well as their humans. Previously it was a fabric and wool shop.
"They had it quite covered up with their window display so we've exposed the whole window now and the natural light pours in. It was just like buying a box, so we thought, ok we'll have to add some quirkiness," said Mel. They didn't have to try too hard. Workmen discovered brick walls which have been left exposed and uncovered boarded over original beams during the makeover which have now been made a feature behind the counter.
Mel added: "I'm really pleased with the space - it's better than I thought it was going to be. Even with the kitchen we managed to fit a lot into a small space."
Retired Irene Bateman, of Radcliffe-on-Trent, said: "I have been to the one in Bingham before so I decided to try it here. It's very nice. The atmosphere is lovely. They have done exceptionally well with such a small place." Her daughter Alison Shepherd, visiting from County Durham, said: "It's really tasty coffee and the Danish pastry was delicious."
The coffee shop is open seven days a week from 8am weekdays, 8.30am Saturdays and 9am Sundays.
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