Visiting Stanford Coffee Shop
At Abbeychart, we are always proud of our people – even when they leave us to fulfil their dreams! With that in mind, we visited Jo Hickling at The Stanford Coffee Shop back in January to find out about her life as a Coffee Shop owner, as well as a look back at her time at Abbeychart…
How has life at The Stanford Coffee Shop been recently?
‘This may sound strange to some people, but we use Christmas as a time to take a break, it’s important for all of our team to get some rest, and the period leading up to the Christmas break is always extremely busy. Other than that, we are usually busy every day and open 7 days a week. While some Coffee Shops prefer to close for a few days a week, being open 7 days, a week allows us to almost completely eliminate food waste, as we’re always open the next day and don’t need to throw anything away before closing! Anything we do have left over, like bread, is used to feed chickens!
Can you tell us a bit more about your time at Abbeychart?
‘I was Abbeychart’s first ever employee! I started working there in 1992 under then-owner Peter Best. My role involved a bit of everything, Sale, Purchasing, and even typing letters manually on an Electric Typewriter. This was due to the fact that, at the time, Abbeychart didn’t own a computer yet!’
‘Things had changed massively by the time I left, however, and I experienced a lot of Abbeychart’s growth over my time at the company, including two office moves!’
What made you become a Coffee Shop Owner?
‘I’ve always wanted to work in the Food industry in one way or another, but I really liked the idea of being my own boss. The opportunity to buy the shop arose, I took the risk and haven’t looked back since. The business has since massively grown – we started with a team of 3 but now have a very busy team of 5 every day.’
‘We are thankful to have a good reputation in the area, and people come back because we provide them with great food. We are mindful, however, that you are only as good as your last meal, which is why we strive for consistently highs standards and have always prioritized the customer experience over the 4 years I’ve been here.’
What are your biggest challenges?
‘The biggest challenge for me is staffing – it is really important to me that my team members fit the nature of the Stanford Coffee Shop – a village hub where people can come and have a chat. We want our customers to have the same experience every time they come in, so we make sure that all of our team have the capabilities and people skills to cultivate a friendly, welcoming and communal environment.’
‘I suppose this is because helping people is central to everything we do. We are partnered with VALE community impact and host regular free cake and coffee days to help support isolated people. We also host Christmas Wreath Making days which form another part of us being a community hub. The feedback we have received from these events is that they have made a massive, genuine impact on people’s lives by helping them get out and meet people. The fact that we have been able to positively change lives makes every bit of hard work absolutely worth it!’
And finally - what's the most popular item on the menu?
‘The main reason our customers come back is our cooked breakfast – that’s definitely the most popular item on the menu. Our Coffee Beans are supplied by Matthew Algie, using their Gaia Beans in our Coffee – which those with a sweet tooth love to enjoy alongside a slice of our Coffee Cake!’
Having visited The Stanford Coffee Shop, we can certainly vouch for the cooked breakfast! You can find the Coffee Shop here – and if you’d like to find out more about supporting VALE community impact – you can do so by visiting their website.
Visiting Stanford Coffee Shop
At Abbeychart, we are always proud of our people – even when they leave us to fulfil their dreams! With that in mind, we visited Jo Hickling at The Stanford Coffee Shop back in January to find out about her life as a Coffee Shop owner, as well as a look back at her time at Abbeychart…
How has life at The Stanford Coffee Shop been recently?
‘This may sound strange to some people, but we use Christmas as a time to take a break, it’s important for all of our team to get some rest, and the period leading up to the Christmas break is always extremely busy. Other than that, we are usually busy every day and open 7 days a week. While some Coffee Shops prefer to close for a few days a week, being open 7 days, a week allows us to almost completely eliminate food waste, as we’re always open the next day and don’t need to throw anything away before closing! Anything we do have left over, like bread, is used to feed chickens!
Can you tell us a bit more about your time at Abbeychart?
‘I was Abbeychart’s first ever employee! I started working there in 1992 under then-owner Peter Best. My role involved a bit of everything, Sale, Purchasing, and even typing letters manually on an Electric Typewriter. This was due to the fact that, at the time, Abbeychart didn’t own a computer yet!’
‘Things had changed massively by the time I left, however, and I experienced a lot of Abbeychart’s growth over my time at the company, including two office moves!’
What made you become a Coffee Shop Owner?
‘I’ve always wanted to work in the Food industry in one way or another, but I really liked the idea of being my own boss. The opportunity to buy the shop arose, I took the risk and haven’t looked back since. The business has since massively grown – we started with a team of 3 but now have a very busy team of 5 every day.’
‘We are thankful to have a good reputation in the area, and people come back because we provide them with great food. We are mindful, however, that you are only as good as your last meal, which is why we strive for consistently highs standards and have always prioritized the customer experience over the 4 years I’ve been here.’
What are your biggest challenges?
‘The biggest challenge for me is staffing – it is really important to me that my team members fit the nature of the Stanford Coffee Shop – a village hub where people can come and have a chat. We want our customers to have the same experience every time they come in, so we make sure that all of our team have the capabilities and people skills to cultivate a friendly, welcoming and communal environment.’
‘I suppose this is because helping people is central to everything we do. We are partnered with VALE community impact and host regular free cake and coffee days to help support isolated people. We also host Christmas Wreath Making days which form another part of us being a community hub. The feedback we have received from these events is that they have made a massive, genuine impact on people’s lives by helping them get out and meet people. The fact that we have been able to positively change lives makes every bit of hard work absolutely worth it!’
And finally - what's the most popular item on the menu?
‘The main reason our customers come back is our cooked breakfast – that’s definitely the most popular item on the menu. Our Coffee Beans are supplied by Matthew Algie, using their Gaia Beans in our Coffee – which those with a sweet tooth love to enjoy alongside a slice of our Coffee Cake!’
Having visited The Stanford Coffee Shop, we can certainly vouch for the cooked breakfast! You can find the Coffee Shop here – and if you’d like to find out more about supporting VALE community impact – you can do so by visiting their website.