Midgar Coffee: Weathering the VAT Storm
St John’s Street is the kind of street where each shop looks out for each other. Everyone knows each other by name and Stuart makes sure nobody goes without a coffee.
Stuart runs Midgar Coffee in Bury St Edmunds, renowned for its quirky and independent spirit. His philosophy is simple. Everyone who walks through the door is a guest in his home.
Hey Stuart! You're surrounded by other independents on St John’s Street. How does that shape the way you operate?
We have a fantastic community. Anyone who works on St John’s Street gets an automatic 15% discount, and we do coffee deliveries to the other businesses so they stay fueled throughout the day; served in a beautifully branded Midgar cup, naturally. We like to do collabs as well. There's a superb florist nearby that on Mother's Day and Valentine's we like to do a takeaway coffee with a bunch of flowers as an all-in-one gift.
Inside the shop it's the same ethos. Everyone who comes into the shop gets a hello, welcome, thank you, and goodbye. And because of that we’ve got a really strong repeat customer base, and we recently won best coffee house in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Nominated and voted for by our own guests. That was a real proud moment for us.
What's the hardest part of running your own coffee shop?
Just like most hospitality brands, business rates are really difficult right now. The front of house may look all shiny and happy and lovely. But beneath the water, the legs are flapping like mad. VAT, minimum wage, cost of goods, it just doesn't feel right at the moment. But our guests understand, and they appreciate why.
Finally, what would you say to someone still using unbranded packaging?
Pardon the pun, but wake up and smell the coffee! The sense of pride I felt when I was walking through Bury on a day off and spotted one of our branded cups. That was the moment I knew we’d built something special. Branded packaging is a walking advertisement. Everyone knows a Costa or a Starbucks cup from a mile off. If the big boys do it, there's a reason the smaller ones should be doing exactly the same. Yes, it costs a little more. But that money comes back through the brand.
In hospitality, we can't control the external factors that impact our business. What we can control is how people feel when they walk through the door. Do that well enough, and your customers don't just come back. They back you when things get tough.
