Coffee, cake, cats and coming out of lockdown

Baristocats is a wonderful small oasis in the hustle and bustle of Commercial Road’s more business orientated activity. A relaxed, artsy, family-run, independent coffee shop such as this might seem better suited to a more bohemian part of town, but over the last few years it has proved to be a big success with office workers grabbing lunch, as a place for informal business meetings and with those just looking for a welcoming haven away from the rat race. With it’s art bedecked walls, cat-themed curios and random musical playlists, not to mention home-made cake, lush soups, custom made rolls and freshly squeezed drinks, and of course great coffee and conversation, it really is everything that you imagine an independent coffee shop to be.

With small, “non-essential” businesses now re-opening after Lockdown, albeit under certain restrictions, we sat down, at an appropriate distance of course, with co-owner Marcus Kittridge to discuss the effect it has had on his shop, his family and what the future looks like for independent businesses like his.

We decided to shut a week early for a number of reasons. Firstly we could see what was happening in Europe and we felt that our government was gambling with our safety and the safety of our customers by not putting basic safeguards in place. Even though we have a five star food hygiene and safety regime, we felt that we could not ensure or enforce social distancing by ourselves. The government had made it clear that we could stay open but also told our customers not to frequent places where people could gather. The messaging was very confused.

Q: How do you feel that the government supported small, independent business like yourselves?

Once the lockdown eventually happened, the government initially put in place some swift financial assistance by way of a business rates holiday and a cash grant. This was welcome and saved us in the short term. We are however worried about the long term future for ourselves, our business and the wider community. I’m not sure about the economic sense of any of the decisions that were made. Looking at the capital flows it does now appear odd. The government instructed the Bank Of England to create a chunk of public debt by creating money. This money was given to the treasury and they passed it on to local authorities. Local authorities passed it on as grants to small businesses like us. We paid two lots of rent to a landlord. The landlord gave the money to a high street bank as two commercial mortgage payments. So in effect the government has nationalised a debt and privatised the profitability of a bank. I am concerned that the burden of debt will fall on the young for decades to come. All for the sake of a few months grace. Time will tell I guess.

Q: And business concerns aside, how did you and the family get through the lockdown period? What were the most difficult aspects and where their any silver linings for you?

There have been dark moments. It took us four years to build this family business from nothing to a point where we were starting to make a small profit. After we made the decision to close early we were facing a very uncertain future. For six weeks we could not even face going back into the shop. It was just too upsetting. Not being able to see our grandson was incredibly difficult too. After all he had been a daily visitor to the coffee shop since he was born. We know most of our customers by name and many have become friends that we see socially away from work too. Not seeing them has been difficult but we have received a huge amount of support and encouragement from them via social media platforms. On a positive note we have enjoyed some of the time off and feel incredibly fortunate to have had a garden and good weather.

Q: Now that you are open, for takeaway food and drink, how does it feel to be back at work and are you seeing the regular faces returning?

It’s been great to see some familiar faces even though the current operating conditions mean that we cannot have lengthy chats as would normally be the case. 

Q: For those who might not be familiar with your wonderful little business, can you describe what you do, how works there, the general vibe and its wider artistic, cultural and community connections?

We are a family business and the space we have created has always enjoyed a very communal vibe. The social side does seem a little compromised by the current social distancing measures. However we still feel very connected to our community. We have a very diverse clientele and welcome people from many diverse backgrounds. Some very unlikely friendships have been forged across our tables and we have witnessed meetings of minds across political and cultural divides. The business has become a magnet for artists, writers and musicians. We enjoy being an integral part of this and enjoy hosting art exhibitions, literary and musical events. When this side of the enterprise returns we will know that Coronavirus is over.

Q: Now that we seem to be moving towards a more normal state of affairs, is there anything that you learnt during these last few months which you can apply to the way that you operate?

We have learned a lot during the Covid times. It can be good to experience some simplifications and slowing down in life especially in terms of wants and needs. I’m hoping that when people rationalise their experiences of these strange times that they will identify and focus on the real important things in life. For us it’s family and community and seeing and experiencing the joy in the little things 

Q: There has been a lot of talk about supporting small business as they emerge from lockdown. What is the best way that people can help you get back on track within these new, looser restrictions?

Our hope for small business is that people will see that small businesses are the life blood and the spirit of the community. Spending locally with a small independent business supports a local family and keeps the local economy alive. We are really careful about where we spend our money and make decisions that are based on our local economy and community. We encourage this wherever we can.

Thank you for your time and good luck with everything going forward.

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The message is clear. Support your local small businesses, those unique, strange, niche, community hubs which add colour and flavour to town centres. We have all seen the images of massive queues outside the chain shops, but spare a thought for the smaller ones too. The ones who buy locally and pay tax locally, the ones who know you by your name and make the time to talk to you, the ones which are part of the community rather than just another building on a street. Now is the time to support such businesses and all you have to do is grab a coffee. Not too arduous, eh?