Express & Echo (City & East Devon Edition)
Man who ran café at quay opens new venue at city trading estate
ONE of the faces behind a popular cafe on Exeter Quay has opened a new venture. Ollie Wakefield has been running Vegbox on Exeter Quay, alongside his partner Kelly Mogford, who owns the business, and has now opened a new venue in Marsh Barton, Melo.
He said the idea came about when he was approached by Gavin Teague, a friend and one of the owners of Exeterbased ice bath business Lumi Therapy, about opening a café in its site on Marsh Green Road North.
The vacant unit was previously occupied by Shauls, which closed in 2020 after the company went into liquidation.
Ollie, who has a passion for food and coffee, said his vision for the café was a “modern, London-style” spot. He said the bakery element was added to honour the site’s previous use.
In addition to food and drinks, Melo also has a shop area where customers can browse products from various brands.
He said: “My partner and I run Vegbox on the quay and prior to that I had my own coffee shop in Melbourne, Australia, so I’ve always been in the coffee industry and I’m a big lover of food and drink.
“I had a vision in my head of a modern, London-style, contemporary coffee shop and bakery which will cater for Marsh Barton.
“We’ve got a full-time baker called Anna and she trained at the National School of Baking in London for four years. Everything is in-house so every pastry, croissant, pain au chocolat, all the vegan options, tray bakes, cakes and everything you can think of.
“I wasn’t initially going to have it as a bakery but as it’s been a bakery for so many years, it seems a shame not to honour that.
“We also make our own focaccia bread and we’ll be making fresh sandwiches, salad bowls and other various breakfast items.”
He said months of work have gone into the café and added he is “happy and content” to have created a coffee shop “for the people”.
He said: “I’ve had my head down and been running on stress for the last five months so I’ve not had time to absorb it.
“I feel happy and content because Melo is a coffee shop for the people. As much as it is mine, it’s the people of Marsh Barton that it’s really for.
“Marsh Barton will be our main audience but we’re also catering for people who like walking and maybe mums going to iBounce etc.
“I’ve always wanted to bring and add to the coffee culture in Exeter from what I’ve learnt travelling the world and working in the industry. I’m bringing all my coffee knowledge to this one spot in the hopes of bringing a nice platform for people to get good, consistent, high-quality coffee.”
Melo, which can be found at 1 Marsh Green Road North, os open 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday, with Saturday opening times to be announced soon.