Help Our Hospitality: ‘Word of mouth makes any business,’ says owner of ‘quirky’ and ‘homely’ town centre cafe

This newspaper’s Help Our Hospitality campaign is back and this week we spoke to the owner of a town centre business that recently celebrated its fifth birthday.

Matchbox Cafe, located in Wellington House, Abington Street, was first opened in April 2018 by Bing Wan.

As an experienced chef of three decades, who has worked in all kinds of food establishments including the town centre’s former Chicago Rock Cafe, Bing took on a new challenge with Matchbox.

Bing’s love for food was nurtured from an early age, with his parents having owned a takeaway, and he puts that experience to good use at the cafe.

“There wasn’t really a right time,” said Bing, when asked why it was the right time to open the cafe five years ago. “The opportunity presented itself to have a business in the town centre, and it took a while to find the right set up and location.”

Bing prides himself on his friendly and approachable team and is joined by Yasmin, David and Hattie.

The building’s open kitchen allows the staff to engage with customers who want to chat.

When asked to describe what the Matchbox Cafe is like for those who have never visited before, the business owner said: “Cute and quirky. It’s a compact and small cafe, and we take pride in ourselves and what we do.

“We offer good quality food and it’s different from a typical cafe.”

Whether customers want to simply sit down and eat their food, talk and socialise with the staff members, or come to relax, the cafe offers an experience for everyone.

Bing says the business has been received “really well” by the Northampton community over the past half-decade – as they are known by so many, but there are people yet to discover them at all.

“We’ve been well received by the town centre and Northampton as a whole,” he added.

When asked what he believes it is that customers like most about the cafe and keeps them coming back for more, Bing said: “Our reputation. They get to see people who are really passionate about what we do.

“We offer good quality food, nice service and it’s homely.”

With five years under his belt at Matchbox Cafe, Bing could not pinpoint just one proudest achievement during that time – but fondly looks back on winning the mystery shopper award, celebrating the venue’s fifth birthday, and being involved in the Rediscover Northampton campaign.

On the flip side, Bing’s biggest challenge is one he is experiencing at the moment.

With the regeneration of the town centre and what is planned for the near future, the venue continues to lose footfall – particularly as it is outside of what Bing described as “the main town centre circuit”.

“If you don’t use us, you will lose us,” said Bing, who admitted that although the business is doing well they still have both good and bad days.

Some days they will “not see a soul”, which Bing says is “heartbreaking”, and he stressed the importance of maintaining footfall to ensure they can remain for the long-term as they would like to.

Bing has networked and collaborated with a number of Northampton’s independent businesses over the years and he believes it is “massively important to do this”.

Though you may be networking with someone who has no connection to the work you do, Bing says they may know someone who does.

“Word of mouth makes any business,” said Bing. “I wouldn’t have got as far as I have without word of mouth.”

Looking to the future of the business, having recently celebrated its fifth birthday, Bing hopes to continue reaching new milestones for years to come.

Though Bing says it is good to see national chains refurbishing and moving into different town centre locations, he believes independents still remain “overlooked” and encourages everyone to support local and small.

To keep up to date with Matchbox Cafe, visit their Facebook page here.