Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Beans & Barley Update
Dear Beans & Barley Shop Customers,
We have been opened for almost a year and a half now and have had some ups and downs throughout our journey and without a doubt enjoyed the whole process of building up a business from scratch, especially if it's a speciality shop selling some unusual products from around the world. We’ve had some difficult times with management & finding the products that are likely to sell etc. and it has proven to be very difficult with such speciality products. As you may already know, a lot of the products that we sell have very short best before dates due to not containing preservatives or other useless ingredients that you would usually get in supermarket food. This has resulted in large amounts of wastage since we’ve opened and coming up to a year and a half we have had to re-consider the whole idea/concept of the business and look closely into our finances.
We are stuck for ideas to find a solution as to what can be done to prevent losses within the business. We have tried increasing sales, as some of you may have realised we’ve added fruit & veg, ice creams, additional range, but it hasn’t helped, we have had to raise our prices to compensate for the wastage, which again hasn’t helped, the only option left for us was to reduce the range to a bare minimum which will result in less customers and in turn less sales which won’t help either. Therefore, we have decided that having a retail premises is not financially viable no matter what we try to do and have had to make a very difficult decision to discontinue the retail side of the business.
We believe that by discontinuing the retail section of the business we will give the cafe more of a chance to progress by focusing solely on the cafe and being more creative with what we do. We will make Beans & Barley a much more mum/baby friendly environment, we will use some of the current retail space to create a play area for the kids, our walls will be used for art exhibitions and we will have comfortable sofas scattered around. We will be opening later than usual (especially on weekends) with nibbles and some great wines & draught beers and we will be running weekly classes such as salsa. During the day we will have workshops that will include some of Paul’s speciality subjects, coffee cupping sessions as well as some kids activities such as drawing classes etc. We apologise in advance if we are causing any body inconvenience with this decision but it's not something we have chosen to do, it's something we have had to do.
We will not be buying in any new stock as we need to clear out what we have in stock, also our scaffold shelving will be up for grabs once they are empty along with some of our equipment.
Again, we apologise for any inconvenience caused but it gives us a chance to be more creative with the large space we have.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Thanks Ben, but I wanted andy to explain.
I've never seen Liz Hurley or Victoria Beckham in the CE Tesco.
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I do apologise. You're in the wrong Tesco.☺️
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Permalink Reply by andy h on
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Hi, sorry for the outburst. And I humbly beg your pardon for the indiscriminate use of yummy mummy, it's as outdated as yuppie (and I got called that way back in a different life)
I didn't mean to offend anyone.
I just like GL and the way it's slowly evolving. I don't want it to change too fast.
Back story-------
I moved here 25 years ago having lived in crouch end for 10years or so before that.
Back then (my) crouch end was a north London back water full of students, HMO's and restaurants that opened and closed within six months after everyone had tried them out.
I remember fantastic house parties, literally dancing on roof's till sunrise ( just opposite the Kings head if your interested), plenty of booze and drugs ( as mentioned above). Karaoke on the Queens head stage,with most of what turned out ,A few years later, to be the cast of Eastenders.
And I loved it!!!
But time moves on - the cars on the street changed from clapped out bangers to Mercs and Beemers. House parties became dinner parties and the demographic of the area changed, prices rocketed, the young and skint moved out. I got older, settled down and, for me, the life of the crouch end I knew had gone.
We moved here, and I found something familiar and felt right at home.
Don't get me wrong I don't want GL preserved in aspic and it has changed enormously in the last 25 years since I arrived (some good some bad).
I Like the grittiness of GL mentioned earlier and hope that it isn't totally erased.
Or at least not too soon.
There,
Nostalgic Novel over.
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Permalink Reply by Alexander on
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Well said I also live in crouch end (park road) around 10 years ago then moved to archway and now here. It's all about balance I guess abit of grittiness with some yummy mummy's thrown in.
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Thanks andy.
I guess tastes vary and I wouldn't like your Crouch End of 25 years ago. But I'm glad you feel at home in Green Lanes.
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I am a regular at Beans & Barley, using both the café and the shop, and I'm really sorry that the retail space isn't working and will close, but very, very glad that you are finding a solution :)
Thanks! and thanks for the update :)Ronald
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Permalink Reply by Beans & Barley on
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Thanks for your support Ronald. See you soon...
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Permalink Reply by Paul on
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Hi,
I just want to comment from a non-parent perspective which I can see is very vocal on here.
I really like B&B, I have tried to shop there but it's not really my thing with expensive Bio food. I'm sure people are painting a picture of me on here, but I'm a mid thirties, capable individual who isn't obsessed by the ills of standard supermarket products. I think there are a lot like me an believe that cost wise, there is only so much organic and high quality food one can buy. It's a shame that you are removing the option, but I think it is fully understandable why and the market a such as guided you thought sales to your decision.
The cafe / terrace is excellent and some on here have talked about a USP, and I think the terrace is it - fanatic in the sunshine. I really like the industrial look and feel and would be saddened to see it softened. I think Snug does the cozy type well. I don't personally like it so B&B is for me all day long.
I think it is a really positive sign that you are taking a view of yourselves and what works before it is all too late.
Trying to help on your core ask, what do I think is missing when I go there? I would have brought on most visits savory food if available. Some simple breakfast options could be good too. But simple is the aim to keep cost manageable. A menu of three breakfast of different sizes for example could be an idea. I'm all for inclusiveness, but I think providing endless dietary requirements will make you unfocused and reduce your chances to escape you challenged. I think in some of your firm replies on this thread, you have shown the will to see this through and stay focused which is great. This has been mentioned and it could be as simple a open sandwiches etc for lunch / dinner. Other thoughts are opening later which you have mentioned. Your drink selection is great, don't loose that.
Hope this helps and doesn't upset too many on here championing, bio, cozy, child friendly, all dietary inclusive, unfocused causes.
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Thanks Paul, we will take your comments into consideration when putting together our new menu. Thanks for your custom & support. See you soon...
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Good luck with the new project!
Babies-kids friendly place sounds great!
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