Meet the owners of a new family-run coffee shop at an iconic building in the heart of Northampton town centre

The Grand Cafe has recently opened up at the former Nationwide building on the corner of Drapery and Mercer’s Row.

The building had been empty since 2019 following Nationwide’s relocation to Abington Street after more than two decades at the site.

However, in March 2020, husband and wife Fatmir Lekgegaj (48) and Violeta Lekgegaj (47) fell in love with the building and submitted plans for a coffee shop on the ground floor.

The married couple of 25 years said they have been converting the top of the building into flats before transforming the ground floor into The Grand Cafe, which opened at the end of April.

The owners said: “We just loved the building. It’s beautiful. It’s iconic in Northampton. It was for sale and we got lucky and got it. We wanted to open a good cafe in town. We’re coffee lovers and we thought, a coffee shop will do for us.

"It took just over a year to refurbish the ground floor into a coffee shop. It was full of the old Nationwide stuff, except all the money! We’re really proud of how it looks. We’ve tried to match the refurbishment to the building, a classic look. We’ve done the inside and the outside. We created the mezzanine. Our customers love it. We’ve had so many people say that it’s nice to see old buildings brought back to life. We want to be here a long time, that’s our plan.”

The Lekgegajs say they have to “pinch themselves” at how far they have come since moving to the town from Albania back in March 2000.

As well as The Grand Cafe, they also own the Family Shopper in Broadway East, Abington, and have previously run a takeaway and operated a hand car wash at Westbridge from 2007 until 2019.

They said: “We’ve been working and building ever since. We have to pinch ourselves. We wouldn’t believe it when we first moved here. We’ve worked hard but it’s paid off.”

Revealing their secret to success, the couple said: “It’s hard work and dedication. We’re working from 7am until 11pm. We’ve just got the passion to do it.”

Ending with a message to the town, the couple said: “Support local!”

The cafe is open seven days a week from 7am – 7pm Monday to Friday, Saturday 8am – 6pm, and Sunday 9 – 5pm. The establishment prides itself on its fresh paninis, pastries and assortment of different coffees.

It already boasts a five-star rating from 11 Google reviews. One reviewer said: “Great coffee and food. I like going there during lunch time as it’s a nice place with great interior, lovely Italian music in the background that transports you directly to a province in Italy while you enjoy your coffee. Wishing the owners the best.”

Another said: “Really nice interior, great tasting coffee at a reasonable price, and they bake their own pastries.”

Mark Mullen, operations manager for Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District, said: “It's heartening to see such a prominent building in our town centre brought back to use and treated with such respect while being brought up to date, honouring its proud history and heritage.

“The cafe occupies an iconic Northampton building, one that generations of residents will be familiar with. It's been given a new lease of life and we look forward to it being a popular addition to our high street.”