Successful Northampton cafe admits ‘if the right premises came up, we would look into expanding’

A Northampton cafe says “if the right premises came up, they would look into expanding” as they continue to grow their success in the heart of their community.

The Workhouse, in Spratton Road, Brixworth, first opened in September 2018 after just short of a year renovating the building.

The venue is the sister store of The Little Workhouse, in Northampton Road, which has been running as a sandwich shop for more than 20 years.

Talking about where the demand to open The Workhouse four years ago came from, general manager Cerina Lentle said: “Everyone wanted more community spirit.

“Brixworth has shops, takeaways, businesses and pubs, but it lacked something like The Workhouse – where the community can come together and the village’s history can be celebrated.

“Anything our customers could want, they can get at our two stores.”

Cerina has worked closely with the mother and daughter director duo, who established the chain.

The daughter lived in London and was exposed to the “trendy coffee shops and new products people did not know about in rural settings”.

“We wanted to bring the excitement of the choice on offer in cities to our village,” said Cerina. “You’re not having the same cups of tea or standard rolls you can get anywhere – it’s exciting and more of a treat.”

Ahead of opening in September 2018, it took the best part of a year to get everything ready to open to the public. As a grade listed building, it required a change of use as it was previously utilised as offices.

The pandemic proved to The Workhouse team just how valued they were among the community.

As a sit down lunch venue, it was not visited by locals on a daily basis before the lockdowns began – but Cerina says the pandemic allowed them to “form special bonds with the community”.

The 34-year-old general manager, from Brixworth herself, said: “People would thank us for being there and it was overwhelming.

“It is classed as a luxury to go out for a coffee or lunch, but during that time it was a necessity.”

Since then, The Workhouse has collaborated with other Brixworth independents to “improve and maintain the village as an idyllic place to visit and live”.

The venue also won Muddy Stilettos’ regional award for best coffee shop last year, and they were pleased to see a nearby florist and jeweller also won in their respective categories.

When asked what has been best received by customers, Cerina says the location is ideal as it is on a walking and cycle route, and they are situated close to Pitsford Reservoir.

She says customers have also admired the effort they put into developing products, made from the “best ingredients they can source”.

All staff members and customers are also heavily involved in the development of what they offer and regularly give feedback.

“We aren’t afraid to make improvements to what we serve if we need to,” said Cerina.

The milkshakes are the most popular item in the summer, and their variety of coffees go down a treat all year round. Not only do they have their house blends, but different guest coffee blends and beans for visitors to try each month.

Cerina added: “We want customers to feel like they’re treating themselves and they deserve it. Rather than it becoming monotonous, we encourage them to try new things.”

Talking about the expansion of the business, the general manager says they have “toyed with the idea of opening another”.

Cerina said: “We’re at a point where we know what we are doing and expansion is on our minds.

“If the right places or premises came up, it is something we would look into. But we don’t want to get to a stage where we grow so big that it impacts the core and quality of our products.

“We would rather have one to three sites that are great and people want to come back to, than 10 that are all just okay. That’s who we are.

“We wanted to create somewhere people want to visit, not to make money.”

Now the new year is upon us, The Workhouse has decided to do something they have never considered before. Head barista Francesca is entering a national latte art competition, as Cerina says she is “very talented”.

The team is also working on developing new products. As the cafe grows, it takes longer to create “new and exciting things”, but that is their aim for 2023.

Cerina said: “We’ve also toyed with the idea of attending food shows and farmer’s markets to make ourselves accessible to those who are not as local and cannot visit us.

“All of the staff really love what we have going on here and these prospects are exciting to us all.”

The general manager added that there is nothing more pleasing than seeing “the pure joy on people’s faces as they see, eat and attempt to finish” something they have made, particularly the cakes.

The team has also joked about the way children run up to the cake counter upon arrival as if it is an aquarium, which Cerina says is “the essence of what they do and why they do it”.

The Workhouse hopes to continue this now the new year has arrived, and welcome in more customers than ever who are in awe of their sweet and savoury delights.