Tiny cafe opens inside old telephone box in Stratford
A STRATFORD couple have converted an old phone box into one of the UK’S smallest cafes.
Coffee lovers Lore Mejia and her husband Sean Rafferty - owners of Amar Cafe - have converted a disused phone box into a tiny coffee shop.
The box at the end of Sheep Street will be manned by a barista, and will serve up a range of classic coffees from Colombian beans.
They now own three phone box cafes - two in London, and now, one in Stratford.
Lore, a former journalist, said: “I had visited Stratford many times before, and I thought it would be a great place to open a new phone box cafe.
“It’s a beautiful town with a lot of history, and one day I’d probably like to live here. The people in Stratford are so polite and friendly too, just like in Colombia.”
The couple met in Colombia whilst Sean was travelling.
Lore had been reporting on farmers who had regained their livelihoods through cultivating coffee after being displaced by conflicts involving Colombian paramilitary groups.
She said: “After talking with those farmers, I saw that coffee was something that could really transform people’s lives.
“Because Sean and I
love the coffee there and wanted to support these incredible farmers, we wanted to bring it to the UK.
“That was when we decided to fund Amar Cafe.
“We wanted to open up a shop or a market stall originally - but everyone else was already doing that.
“We really wanted to stand out from the crowd, and we saw there were quite a few classic red telephone boxes in London that weren’t being used for anything.
“We felt it was a great opportunity.
“Even though phone boxes are a really small space, we can still serve great Colombian coffee to people.
“They’ve worked well so far - the telephone box catches our customers’ eyes at first, but it’s the quality of the coffee that keeps them coming back. We know some fantastic farmers in Colombia, so we only serve the best.”
The phone box cafe is set to create three local barista jobs who will man the coffee shop on rotation.
Chairman of Stratfordon-avon District Council, Cllr Christopher Kettle, said:
“This is a fantastic idea by Lore and Sean to convert one of our old telephone boxes into something useful.
“I’m so pleased they chose to open their first phone box outside of London in our town, and I’m confident residents and visitors will support the cafe in the coming months.
“I have to say the coffee was excellent, and I’d be more than happy to go back for another.
“The cafe is a wonderful addition to Stratford, and we wish them all the best for the future.”
Anyone wishing to find out more can visit Amar Cafe’s website at amarcafe.co.uk, or follow the company on Instagram at @amarcafelondon.