Cafes: a hub for the community

With 2.3 billion cups of coffee purchased each year, no more is the UK a nation of tea drinkers. The coffee shop market has taken over the high street and specialists expect it to keep growing over the next five years. The sector generated over £10 billion in 2018 and is one of the UK economy’s most successful, according to coffee market analysts, Allegra. As coffee culture develops in the country, demand for quality coffee is increasing. Recently, independent coffee shops have blossomed, now attracting 38% of coffee drinkers. These local cafés offer their customers a different experience to chain coffee shops. Since 2013, several independent coffee shops have made Green Lanes their home and attracted professionals, young people and families alike.

The growing number of people working remotely has contributed to these coffee shops’ success. For many, cafés have become the office. They bring their laptops and enjoy free WiFi access. Young parents have also flocked to these independent coffee shops which provide local child-friendly places to socialise. Most of the establishments in Harringay make children part of the experience by offering activities and adapting their menus, often featuring the popular ‘babycinno’. Independent coffee shops also appeal to locals with dietary requirements. The area has a high concentration of Turkish restaurants which tend to specialize in meat dishes, whereas cafés have gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan and vegetarians options. We sat down for a flat white and met owners and customers to understand this new phenomenon.

Blend

Cafe Blend owner Linda Zubairi

Blend was the first independent coffee shop to open on Green Lanes, back in 2013. ‘We had to go to Crouch End to get a coffee before’, says owner Linda Zubairi. ‘We wanted it to be a community hub for people to come together, a bit like a village coffee shop!’ she explains.  Along with co-founder Steve Talevski, they received a warm welcome from local residents. One of them, Alison, Blend’s most loyal customer, has lived in the area for 20 years. Sitting in a comfortable armchair, reading on her tablet and sipping her coffee, she tells us how excited she was to see a place like this open on Green Lanes. She became friends with the owners and the staff. Blend aims to bring something different to the community. The owners launched evening culinary residences, based on the concept of food pop-ups. They have served fresh and seasonal brunch. They also diversified the business, opening a retail section which offers Scandinavian design products for the home.

Music & Beans

With musical instruments hanging on the walls, Music & Beans is hard to miss. Opened in 2015, the coffee shop also offers music lessons and a rehearsal space. When we visited, a few customers were working on their laptops. We met father Guney and Nuri, his 16 month-old son, who was enjoying a babycinno. Guney thinks that these establishments have expanded the range of afternoon activities available locally. ‘Young parents refuel on coffee, they need it to function!’, he admits jokingly. Manager Hatice Kucuk grew up in the area and thinks that independent coffee shops are changing the face of Harringay. ‘When I was a teenager there was not a place to hang out so I would go to Islington, Camden or Shoreditch’, she told us. However, with the development of Green Lanes, Hatice now really enjoys spending time in the area. She adds that the greater number of independent coffee shops has also helped other businesses in the street by bringing more people to Harringay.

Beans and Barley

Beans&Barley is a child-friendly coffe shop with indoor play space for kids.

When Beans and Barley launched in 2015, it included an organic food shop. Owners eventually decided to stop this side of the business and later turned the space into a playroom. They also developed kids activities, including classes run by a local mums. ‘We created a spacious environment for the community,’ explains Onur, ‘a place where parents come and relax while their children enjoy themselves’. We met young mum Mimi, chatting with her friend Gemma. They had just finished breakfast and Mimi was relaxing as her 18 month-old twin daughters were having fun in the playroom opposite. ‘I don’t feel stressed about my children being noisy because they have a dedicated space’, she explains. Onur did not abandon the idea of healthy food and Beans and Barley sells home-baked gluten free cakes.

Abraco

is Harringay's most recently opened coffee shop. The café started serving healthy, delicious food with an exciting menu featuring various dishes from vegan specials to home-made burgers just a few months ago. Ugur Guccuk, the owner of the café, belongs to the second generation of a family that has been trading in Harringay for decades. Working at the Dostlar Supermarket across the street from the café for years, Ugur noticed that the profile of residents in the area has changed dramatically in recent times.

Ugur points out that the professionals and young people who have settled locally prefer this trendy type of café, and that the interest he has seen since he opened up is living proof of just that. As Ugur puts it, coffee shops like his are becoming increasingly popular spaces for social life throughout the UK. Abraco and other upmarket cafés on Green Lanes speak to the great potential of Harringay to become a new hub for coffee culture in London.