The coffee bar is expanding to a second site after a successful three year run at the site in Shoreditch. The new site will feature its own exclusive custom blend of coffee, as well as a hidden speak-easy cocktail bar behind a sliding wall in the basement. Soho Grind will sit 60 people and aims to give an intimate atmosphere and provide customers with good music as well as bespoke coffee.
The original Shoreditch Grind coffee and cocktail bar was founded in 2011 by DJ and musician Kaz James and entrepreneur David Abrahamovitch, as part of their desire to find the perfect espresso in London. The Shoreditch site features a recording studio upstairs, as the pair aimed to do 'something different'.
Expansion
Abrahamovitch informed BigHospitality that the new site had been in the works for three years, and it was important to the duo that it was quite different from the first so they are not viewed as a chain.
He said: "Soho was the obvious next step for us. It’s similar to Shoreditch in a lot of ways, with a nice number of old buildings and streets. We love the blend of people there, it’s a real mixing pot of people working in different industries and tourists too, so you don't get just one kind of customer.
"Beak Street itself has a great community vibe to it. It’s a small street that feels like a mini village in Soho and we really like that. Plus we wanted to find a nice old building with lots of character and really nice frontage; this site just ticked all the boxes.
Abrahamovitch said it was important for them that Soho Grind did not disappoint, and they spent a lot of time working out the small details. The furniture, for example, is custom made and shipped over from Australia, and the pair are having bespoke tiles made for the new site.
He said: "The sites are branded differently and the décors inside are quite different, there’s common themes but it’s been completely redesigned."
Music and a fun vibe
Both the Soho Grind and the Shoreditch Grind sites aim to stand out from other coffee bars with the incorporation of cocktails and music. Abrahamovitch said custom playlists will be used to enhance customer experience at the new site.
He said: "For us the music has a really important job in the bar because it’s a part of the whole customer experience and creates the environment. We spend a lot of time on our the playlists."
"The difference between us and some of the other independent coffee shops that is we try and have a bit of fun with the whole thing. The soundtracks are really important, we have a good vibe and we appeal to the local community."
Soho Grind will also serve food, offering pastries for breakfast and Italian inspired sandwiches and salads for lunch. The evening menu will feature apperitivo dishes and sharing plates to be enjoyed in groups along with the cocktails.
Abrahamovitch said: "We’re very aware that this is our second site and there’s an expectation, people have been asking us to expand for ages. We've really thought about every single detail, and hopefully that will be noticeable when the site opens. We’re super excited to be taking this step."
Soho Grind is opening in early May and is located at 19 Beak Street.