Copyright cambridge-news
An independent lifestyle store in a Cambridgeshire town has opened a coffee bar that is bringing people in the store together "socially". Victoria Giles, the owner of Adorn in St Ives, said the coffee bar has already been getting "people through the door". Adorn focuses on selling artisan and homemade items to support small local businesses such as candles made in the town. Mrs Giles decided to add a coffee bar to the store after a few customers had suggested the idea and she agreed that it was "the next step" for the business. She added: "It just gets new people through the door that wouldn't necessarily come in here. We were told by lots of customers that when they come in, they feel quite calm and it's quite a relaxing atmosphere. Now they can walk around with a takeaway coffee in their hand as well and grab a cake if they want." The coffee bar will be serving hot drinks using hand roasted small batch coffee from Shrewsbury that meets all of Mrs Giles' "ethical credentials", which can also be bought in bags you can take home. There are also a range of cakes and pastries to choose from including cruffins, cherry blondies, and hazelnut pain au chocolats. Mrs Giles' husband, Will, is looking into expanding the coffee available and plans to have some guest roasts at the coffee bar such as special Christmas roasts and other options from Iron & Fire including a few different flavoured coffees. Mr Giles said the coffee bar wants to offer something "a little bit different for coffee aficionados" compared to the big chains in the area. The store does not have any indoor seating but there are plans to have some tables in the shop's courtyard throughout the spring and summer. When asked what the coffee bar adds to Adorn, Mrs Giles said: "It's just going to add a nice atmosphere. We've already had quite a few people come in and they all start chatting. It becomes a nice little gathering and it's just quite nice socially." Adorn has already received some "lovely" reviews about the new coffee bar. Mrs Giles said: "We've had someone say it's fantastic coffee and it's going to be their go-to from now on. They're going to keep coming back so not bad since we opened on Saturday." Adorn is "trying to be as green as possible" with its coffee bar including using compostable cups with recyclable lids as well as using an energy efficient coffee machine. Adorn can be found at 4 Market Hill in St Ives and will be extending its opening hours by opening at around 8.30am for people to pick up a coffee before work.
