We caught up with Mel Norman, founder of Leigh’s in De Beauvoir, Hackney; a neighbourhood coffee shop. On Instagram, it is denoted as ‘your favourite local’ — so naturally, we started the conversation there, asking Mel what Leigh’s is to its neighbourhood and how she is setting its course in a way that’s true to her original vision.
"I wanted Leigh’s to feel like the kind of spot you stumble upon in the countryside… one that’s cosy and familiar. I want it to feel like everyone is coming into my living room." Mel explains from the stockroom she’s sat in, while regulars come in and out. "I’m keen for my team and I to feel like characters in our customers lives, for them to feel like regulars in a way that I think is sometimes in missing in London," Leigh’s is perched in a lovely spot in De Beauvoir, on Ardleigh Road; half way between both Haggerston and Dalston Junction stations but set back from the noise of Kingsland road, there’s a subtle to-ing and throwing of regulars and people that Mel and team genuinely remember the orders of; whether they are daily or weekly visitors.
Regulars over virality
When Mel speaks about wanting to create something she felt was missing in her pocket of London, she notes the super-contemporary pressures that come with a hospitality business in the city: "there’s a focus on going viral, having queues around the block and having one signature thing that’s driving all this temporary demand and interest to your business but I don’t want that, I actually want to enjoy my day and enjoy the business I’m creating." She adds that more and more it feels like some consumers who visit food businesses in London ‘want things to be perfect’ and are expecting more and more for the coffee or sandwiches they’ve ordered.
Mel’s hands-on approach
To keep Leigh’s rooted in Mel’s vision, she stays very close to all that the business does, in her own words, she’s ‘very, very hands-on’ and has had to learn a lot on the job when her co-founder had to leave shortly after opening. From being in the cafe every day to being in the weeds of every transaction, Mel’s hands-on approach is giving her peace of mind that Leigh’s is doing just what she wants it to do; she says she sees in every day that a new regular comes in or a new team member starts to feel more and more entrenched in the business.
Of course, a big part of that hands on running of the business is the finances; working with an accountant was a big learning curve for Mel and it came with Apron becoming something she uses and loves: "I’m not a numbers person at all and will find myself busy every day that we’re open going over things related to service, so having a tool that I can spend a little bit of time with, ensure everything is in right place and have it all reconciled without any time consuming help from our accountant is truly great…I don’t really know what I’d do without it."
What’s next
While Mel acknowledges that Leigh’s is still young, the rigour and craft of getting the business into a good spot feels tangible to her. It meant she was able to ditch the first ‘janky coffee machine’ Leigh’s had been using up to that point and to purchase a new coffee machine earlier this year and have it paid off via a payment plan in September; just 4 months later. "It’s made such a difference having equipment that is slicker and more of a joy for me and the team to use… and customers have noticed it too, which is really fun."
On the topic of what’s on the horizon, Mel says: "people ask if I’m going to open a second site but I don’t feel that’s what I want to do for now so I tend to just say ‘maybe’ to that question and say that instead I am thinking more about doing small things to make the operations slicker; primarily through making more money, so I can eventually invest in certain levels of equipment, explore hiring maybe a pastry chef or something like that."
