Fuelling passion for supercars and coffee
Podium Place boss outlines Newbury firm’s unique business concept
CARS and coffee is proving the perfect pairing for a Newbury business born during the Covid lockdown.
Tracey Waterman and John Kane launched Podium
Place, in Bone Lane, at the end of last year – setting up four limited companies and completing a multi-million pound refurbishment at the height of coronavirus restrictions.
Their vision is clear, offering a unique platform for supercar sales within a specialty café and coffee roastery – “great customer service, serving great coffee in a great environment”.
The business is owned by John Kane and, as director and operations manager Tracey explains, Podium Place came out of his two biggest passions; cars and coffee – hence the company’s strapline ‘fuelling passion’. The pair have worked together for many years and so the idea of setting up Podium Place was too good an opportunity for Tracey to turn down.
As well as having several of the world’s most sought-after supercars in the showroom for people to see, the new business also boasts its own coffee roasting machine, which customers can see in action every week.
“We wanted to create a special destination,” Tracey says. “It was nearly two years in the making, but it’s absolutely amazing. The atmosphere is great.
“The team got this up and running throughout Covid so it has been very stressful. “But we are already being put forward for awards and have been very well supported from far and wide.”
Tracey, who grew up in Hertfordshire and lived and worked in Buckinghamshire and London in high-end hospitality and events before taking on this new venture, added: “This has been a challenge as I had to learn so much.
“It’s a unique space – and hopefully a flagship.”
One of the problems they didn’t expect to encounter as a multimillion-pound turnover business was getting a bank account.
As a business, it has proved to be a real ‘headache’ and something they have only recently managed to begin sorting out, thanks to MetroBank.
All the cars on show in Podium Place, as well as the artwork that adorns the walls, are for sale.
The paintings and sculptures are by renowned F1 artist Paul Oz, who hand-finishes each of the limited edition prints with oil.
There is also a beautiful statue of Aryton Senna by the same artist next to the full motion racing simulator – more on that highlight later. To complement the car sales and café, a coffee roasting facility is situated within Podium Place.
The company has teamed up with Miami coffee company Per’La, which has crafted all of Per’La UK’s specialty coffee roasting profiles with the expertise of part owner and one of roughly 350 certified q-graders in the US, Paul Massard, who knows everything there is to know about coffee tasting, grading, procurement and farming. “The coffee is amazing,” Tracey adds. “We have our own coffee expert in house, and we will be supplying wholesale coffee to other cafés and restaurants.
“All our offerings are sourced from local businesses, prepared with a great team made up of full-time and parttime Podium crew.
“We intend to serve coffee from a specially adapted 1972 Range Rover, due to launch later this week.”
All the coffee is sustainably sourced, with full traceability and roasted onsite weekly by Hannah Scott, SCA-trained head of roasting for Per’La UK.
You will get to see Hannah in action and enjoy the aromas that fill the air as she works her magic.
For those interested in the roasting side of the business, Per’La also offers roasting parties, professional barista classes and latte art classes, all on site.
The car park also hosts a two-point superfast Rolec EV charger, putting them on the automotive map.
Now on to the simulator, which has proved incredibly popular.
It offers customers the chance to race any car, on any track, anywhere in the world – and does become “very competitive” admits Tracey. It is used for team building and corporate events, as well as being hired regularly by groups of friends, eager to get on the leaderboard, which has pride of place between the simulator and the Senna sculpture.
The simulator is situated between two turntables, a major component of revamp of the building itself.
By day they are used to showcase the cars, but by night – when the space can be turned into a private entertainment space for hire – they can host anything from a Champagne fountain to a string quartet or DJ.
With commercial catering facilities available there too, Podium Place is already getting booked up for events and private parties.
“The feedback is amazing,” Tracey adds. “It’s a new unique space and we have a lot of pride in this.
“It is so nice to work with someone [John Kane] who enables you to do something like this. “We have a great team here too and all the staff are coming forward with their own ideas for events, which is really nice.
“We are growing organically through great customer service, serving great coffee, in a great environment through a difficult year, reflected in our online reviews.”
Alongside regular car meets and parties, the next event in the Podium calendar is a ‘sound off’ on December
12, where there will also be the opportunity to put your car on the turntables to get a 360-degree visual of it, and a rev-off for the top spot on the leaderboard, with the winner taking home an hour experience for the simulator. The café is open 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm at weekends.
Podium Place will be closed on December 24, 25, 26, 27 and January 1.
It will be closing at 3pm on Friday, December 31.
It was nearly two years in the making, but it’s absolutely amazing. The atmosphere is great