Potter & Reid is an east London cafe co-owned and run by Dani Reid; it was also one of the first businesses to sign up with Apron. After a recommendation from a friend, Dani sat down with our CEO, Bogdan. “He talked me through everything and set it up for me, basically showing me every step of the way, and I haven’t looked back. It's such a streamlined and easy product to use.”
It was the start of a great relationship. Apron HQ is just around the corner from Dani’s cafe, so many of the team have become regular customers. “I just think that they're doing something really cool and they're lovely people”. Having joined at such an early stage in Apron’s growth, Dani has also seen how the product has evolved, “they’re always fixing and adding things… it just happens, and I’m like, oh yeah, that works way better.” She’s now planning on transferring her payroll over to Apron to simplify the business even more, in part due to the level of support she has directly received from the team and the online tools.
For Dani, the level of support is a big positive. Whenever she has a question, she either speaks to the team directly or uses the online support. “The other day I tried the AI agent, William, for the first time… and it’s a really good tool and super easy.” It’s this relationship that has given Dani the confidence to take the cafe further.
The customer is always right
When the cafe first opened, Dani and her business partner Agnes knew they wanted it to be centred on community. “We wanted to create a place where we want to spend time ourselves…with a sense of community, and we still make decisions to this day through that lens”. After taking time to build up relationships, in the end, it was a regular who suggested catering. Dani explains, “Someone said, ‘Your food is amazing, would you do catering?’ and I just said, ‘Of course, I guess we can do that’.” From here, they not only started to offer outside catering, but also private hire, “We've hosted engagement parties for regular customers.” They also run monthly supper clubs and weekend table service.
It’s a change that was made easier with Apron. Dani describes her early days of struggling with reconciliation: “I was just like, oh my God, all these numbers, what's going on?” Using Apron helped simplify everything and gave her the confidence to make better decisions: “I can think about it a bit more and get the data, then make the decision based on that.” Now those choices are more considered, which is so important given the many challenges in running a business.
How not to cry over spilt milk
Dani is open about the struggles the cafe is facing: “Honestly, it’s about sustainability. Costs are rising across the board; ingredients, utilities, wages, all at the same time and consumers are really feeling it… so you want to offer something that still feels accessible to people.” It’s a balancing act that requires an awareness of what’s going on in your surroundings and a willingness to adapt. Potter & Reid has tackled it by focusing on maintaining quality, offering lunch deals, switching ingredients and inviting guest chefs in to host supper clubs, as well as growing the catering business, “I don't think that we would have survived if we didn't do catering.”
As Dani says, these are challenges that also have an effect on her customers, and many are looking for deals. She explains the rise in apps that offer rewards, such as coffee for £1, “I have to get on this because you want to get more exposure”, even though the system might involve sacrificing some initial profit: “If you want them to come in for lunch, it’s what you need to do.”
Still brewing
So what’s next? Dani is adamant they’d “rather grow slowly,” but the success of the expanded offering means she’s able to think further ahead, “I'd love to extend to the kitchen, and on the catering side of things, if we want that to grow, I think we'll need to do it for that purpose as well…and I'd love a second site eventually.”
And as for advice for anyone starting out, Dani says, “Get to know your crowd, your customers.” And remember, “It just takes time.”
