Two couples who met at University have taken on the corner site in South End Road and sourced quality, local and sustainable suppliers
Tiny 38 foot square coffee-shop The Nook is serving hungry Hampstead residents with delicious ice-cream, milkshakes and hot drinks.
With seating for just two, and a till stowed above the fridge, the corner site at 43 South End Road opened today. (Sep 28)
Golders Green couple Mike and Zoe Mclelland have joined forces with former university pals Shalini Patel and Keith Ranaweera for the venture, which will serve Origin Coffee, award-winning cold treats by Ice Cream Union, and six strengths of hot chocolate.
“Between us we work in pensions, marketing and as an optician, and the ongoing joke is that our baristas are more knowledgable than we are,” says Shalini.
“But it’s always been a passion to do this. Mike really wanted a site on the High street that he loves, so it felt really special when this came up.
“Space is a challenge and fitting everything in has been like doing the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle because we wanted to do so much. But we’ve maximised every single square metre and managed to fit an ice cream counter, coffee machine, milkshake machine and oven to make pastries and pies.”
Working on the basis that “if you are only selling a few things they have to be amazing” the two couples have tirelessly researched their suppliers for quality, flavour and sustainable practices.
Origin Coffee beans are ethically sourced and “great tasting,” the milk for the shakes comes from The Estate Dairy which has high animal welfare standards, and the luxurious hot chocolates are made from melted Belgian chocolate.
“We’ve tried to support London businesses and be as local as possible,” adds Shalini. “It’s also been good to employ people who lost their jobs in lockdown and we’ve been lucky to get some very experienced baristas.”
The Nook, 42 South End Road, NW3.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here