I left this recent reacquaintance with a massive smile!
When someone makes a choice to do what they really enjoy, and they love what they do, it’s an incredibly powerful thing to see.
On a ‘staycation’ with the family in the Lakes, I’d arranged with a long-time friend to drop in and say “Hello”.
A bit of context
The slightly embarrassing thing to admit here is this wasn’t any old meet-up. It’s been over 25 years; indeed it’s perhaps nearer 30!
Nick and I had spent many happy years as students in York yet when we departed, we never really stayed in touch … until recently. Tracking back, only in the last 12–18 months had we reconnected via some mutual friends (on Facebook) and as #MAMILS on Strava — following each others’ cycling excursions!
What fascinated me was Nick now owns a ‘coffee bar’ … a long way off what I had pictured as his career and definitely not one that followed our studies in York! He was also based in the Lakes — a place I love to visit — so we made arrangements and we planned to call-in for breakfast as we headed home.
From local government to coffee bar!
It was so good to meet each other again. After so long, we were both bursting with questions …
“What you been up to?”
“Have you seen so-and-so?”
… we had a lot of years to catch up on.
I was still curious to know “How did you get into this game”?
Nick worked for 25+ years in local government. A career path taking him to senior leadership in the county council yet also with an eye on a way out, (we’re both approaching that sort of age!), and he was able to leave a few years ago and pursue other interests.
A Horse Box!
Nick chose to convert an old horse box into a coffee bar! The background to his story is on the website yet I found his path so simple and he was very clear what he wanted to do.
Nick has an interest in music, plays in a band and wanted to support local events/festivals/weddings etc so the coffee bar was an opportunity to mix the joys of his world with a different way of working.
A bit of work chat too
I cannot deny I remained curious. I wanted to know more. We chatted about how the business works for him. He admitted he worked long and tiring days, especially at events, yet working for himself was not ‘hard work’. Longer and more physically tiring days than he’d ever worked previously yet he loved what he did; and he remained thirsty to do more!
What made me smile about meeting-up with Nick was seeing how much he enjoyed his work and also how much he cared about making the best experience for the customer. Seriously, every cup was made with real attention to detail. And I have to confess, the breakfast butties were excellent and the cakes … #yum. With no bias, his coffee #flatwhite was delicious too.
A successful and locally-oriented business
The clincher for me, and what made me ‘glow’ inside, was Nick decided to ‘expand’ his passion prior to Covid by selling his wares on the local village green … ‘cos he wanted to. He didn’t need to and his choice wasn’t one of a must do. His, was a WANT TO and boy is he doing well!
He has a roaring trade, plenty of regulars plus walkers and cyclists (it’s on a C2C route). People even know to bring their own chairs because the place is so busy. Seriously, I was so pleased to see a good friend doing so well and most importantly, without stress or strain.
Of course every small business comes with its demands and challenges yet in a short space of time, I couldn’t help thinking this was someone doing what he really loves and enjoys to do.
I’m always interested to know how businesses work so I was on a roll of questions. I wanted to know more. All his products are locally-sourced. He was knowledgeable and had great rapport with his customers. The coffee is seasonally rotated by a local roaster. The sausages are Cumberland (of course). The cakes were home-made, and absolutely delicious.
What about the barista skills? He explained the roaster provided five days of training and also he had a deal for them to look after his kit. And, doing thousands of cups of coffee helps. I was in awe. I was genuinely admiring someone who loved what he does and with such care. Even more, he was conscious of his location and investing in a local supply chain that allowed him to be so proud of what he does.
We drove away, reluctantly, and all I could admire was what a great success my friend had made, by making some lifestyle choices that he wanted to make.
I had a smile from ear-to-ear
It won’t be another 30 years … we’re socially-media connected! And I will be back for refreshments and a natter again. P’raps even a cycle trip! If you are ever in the vicinity, I recommend a drop-in to ‘Saddlebacks Coffee Bar’ on the village green at Langwathby.
