Six years ago, I set up Workshop Coffee at 27 Clerkenwell Road. Taking sledge hammers to walls and bars, we turned the former nightclub into our flagship café, our roastery and, for some time, our headquarters too.
From the day we started, our commitment has always been to giving people access to the best coffee possible and we’ve continued to adapt, change and iterate with every lesson we’ve learned and opportunity that’s presented itself.
It was from Clerkenwell that we opened our first coffeebar, Marylebone, which in turn led to the opening of its subsequent sibling bars, Holborn, Fitzrovia and, most recently White Collar Factory.
It was also where we took on our first wholesale partner, signed up our first subscription customer and sold our first bag of coffee destined for the other side of the world.
We’ve come an incredibly long way as a company and have learnt an awful lot as we’ve continued to grow. And as each year has passed, our commitment to quality has only solidified and our purpose has become increasingly focused.
Our business, our product and our expertise lie with coffee and, because of that, I’ve decided to close our Clerkenwell Cafe.
Clerkenwell and every person that’s walked through its door – whether once, weekly or daily – has been an important part of our journey. And there’s no question that it’s a fantastic location, having become an institution in its own right; a must-visit on any coffee tourists UK or London shortlist and a warm, friendly and familiar haven for weekday workers and weekend brunchers alike.
But I believe that to continue our ongoing commitment to quality, we need to renew our focus on providing the best coffee we can. That means focusing on coffee more intently, removing distractions to make for a better coffee experience and a better overall product in our four coffeebars, for our wholesale partners and for our growing community of online and subscription customers.
We intend to close Clerkenwell on Friday 28th July, with many of the Clerkenwell team continuing to work with me and others in the team in redoubling our efforts in key areas of the business.
Whether you sat with us for one cup or one hundred over the years, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you. You’ve helped to get us to where we are today and provided us the platform to continue onwards.
We look forward to continuing to welcome you to each and all of our coffeebars soon.
-- James Dickson
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