Most ‘family-friendly and eco-friendly’ Leon to open in Oxford
Set to open at the end of November, the 136-seat space will be spread over two floors, and also include a dedicated play area for children. The books in the children’s library will come from Oxfam. The child-friendly measures come soon after the group announced it was introducing flexible working measures for its staff to allow them to work around childcare commitments and/or personal projects.
The Oxford location will also be the group’s first site to debut a new waste recycling station for customers to use, and comes after the group announced a renewable energy deal with Oxford-based provider Opus Energy, which sources energy from wind turbines, solar panels, hydro, and anaerobic digestion.
Art within the store will include an original paper cut work from Helen Musselwhite, showing the group’s Fairtrade coffee sourcing story, including one of the chain’s new biodegradable, recyclable coffee cups. There will also be photos displayed of Leon suppliers.
The new venue, which will bring Leon’s estate to 42 sites, will also open with the group’s new Christmas menu, plus two new vegetarian options for breakfast (halloumi muffin, and veggie egg pot), alongside traditional menu items such as the Moroccan meatballs, and fish finger wrap.
Cyclists will receive free coffee vouchers once the site opens, with Leon staff cycling around the city – famous for its residents’ use of push bikes ‒ handing out vouchers and other ‘free goodies’. Students and NHS staff will also receive 15 per cent off as standard, and the site will also offer delivery with online group Deliveroo.
John Vincent, Leon chief executive who co-founded the group with Henry Dimbleby and Allegra McEvedy in 2004, said: “Oxford is a city where you study, work and play hard. This will be one of our biggest, most family-friendly sites. At Leon family means everything to us.”
