Summary
A Cheltenham coffee shop is brewing up a storm with the help of £87,000 of funding from the British Business Bank, delivered by SWIG Finance.
Details
Business directors Julia Bogusz and her sister Kinga received start up loans of £25,000 each and a joint loan of £37,000 from the South West Investment Fund (SWIF) to finance every aspect of The Coffee Cauldron in historic Montpellier, from surveys and stock right down to the crockery and cutlery.
SWIG Finance is one of the Bank’s fund managers appointed to deliver the £200m South West Investment Fund and it’s the Business Support Partner for Start Up Loans in the South West. Last year it delivered £8 million in start up loan funding to more than 400 businesses across the region.
Julia, aged 26, had been working in hospitality for a decade to fund her way through university, studying psychology first as an undergraduate degree then at masters level. Julia said: “After graduation, I felt I should find a ‘big girl job’, maybe in an office, but I was really struggling to find one I was passionate about.
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“In contrast, I had developed a real passion for coffee and had joked about starting my own coffee shop. Eventually, having discussed it with family and friends, I found myself considering it seriously.
After all, I love being on my feet and working with people.” Nestled in the Regency town’s Grade I listed Rotunda building (formerly Lloyds Bank), The Coffee Cauldron was born out of Julia’s desire to do things differently. “I felt that many coffee shops were rather minimalist and not very cosy – it was all very hipster, and the coffee scene in general felt like an exclusive community,” said Julia.
“I wanted to go back to the millennial cool vibe: comfy chairs, wood panelling, leather sofas – an all-round cosier aesthetic. I wanted to create a specialist coffee shop people could go to and, if they didn’t know much, they could ask questions and not feel looked down upon.
“We cater for the connoisseur who loves learning about different beans, but we also serve our own hand-made syrups and iced coffees topped with cream for people who want sweet drinks – which is around 90% of customers.” To this end, she and assistant manager Ohla created two characters: coffee aficionado Frank and his friend, Bob, who is fond of a frappe. “It’s a great analogy for the coffee community.
Report source: Punchline Gloucester
