00:00David, how is business?
00:02Yes, great. Business is really good.
00:04We've been really, really pleased with how it's been the last few weeks.
00:09We had to close for a week, which is bad for business, in terms of it's horrible to say,
00:14sorry we're closed, and as any business owner will know, that's a real challenge,
00:19because you're not making any money when you're closed,
00:23but we were using that time to do refurb in terms of all of our windows and doors
00:28and outside of the cafe, and since then, business has been brilliant, actually.
00:33We've had our best day ever on Bank Holiday Monday, so we're really pleased.
00:38Talk to us about the week that you guys were closed and how that was for you.
00:42Yes, absolutely. It was horrible being closed for a week.
00:46We had to say, sorry we're closed, so many times to people.
00:50We said that to all of our regulars, which is a real shame,
00:52no matter how many times we put it on social media.
00:55The reality is people go on autopilot, which is just brilliant,
00:58but it was real frustration to say, sorry we're closed, so many times.
01:04As a business, it's a real challenge to be closed for a bunch of days as well.
01:08There's lots of takings, and that's tricky.
01:12But the great thing was, when we reopened, we then went on to have our best day ever
01:16on the Bank Holiday Monday, and set a bunch of new milestones in terms of how the business performs.
01:22The staff did it brilliantly, and we got such good feedback from customers and locals,
01:27so it was really worthwhile.
01:29I know I've said to you already, but I think it looks fantastic,
01:32and it sounds like it's been well received as well.
01:34Talk to us about the community reception to the re-brand and to Brook.
01:38Yes, absolutely. It's been super positive.
01:41We took over probably just about two years ago,
01:44and we wanted to really grow from what Helen and James, the previous owners,
01:50had built in terms of turning a GT News into a really lovely cafe.
01:55We feel like we've done that, but as you said, it's not over.
01:59Probably every six months, we try and invest some money into improving different areas.
02:05So we've done the inside, we've done the downstairs,
02:08and the next thing was to do the outside.
02:10So we got all the windows and doors changed,
02:12which makes a really big difference because the old windows were the original GT News ones,
02:17so they steamed up terribly in the winter, and they were drafty,
02:20and the doors were a bit drafty.
02:22Hopefully this winter, it will be a lot nicer and more cosy.
02:25In the summer, we can open up a bit more and have a bit more fresh air going through the cafe.
02:31Sheffield has a brilliant cafe and coffee industry and culture,
02:35but I feel like Brook has really painted out quite a different role
02:39to many other, I guess, independents in the city.
02:41This is a community staple.
02:43It seems to be the place to go locally.
02:47How do you do that?
02:49Good question.
02:51It's been quite deliberate to try and know what we are and who we're catering for,
02:58so we took a lot of time to look at who are our current customers
03:04and who we want to also have as our customers
03:07and who weren't necessarily coming into the cafe when we took over,
03:10and just to try and create something that serves all those different community groups
03:15really, really well.
03:17The key thing is taking on feedback from people,
03:20so you have an idea of what will work,
03:22and then people stop you in the street and they tell you whether it is or isn't working,
03:25and the nice thing is that's been overwhelmingly positive,
03:29so it is lovely when people say it's a great cafe and are really pleased with it
03:34and they like the changes.
03:36It's really satisfying.
03:38I can't come and chat to you about Brook without asking you about them.
03:42Yeah.
03:45I think it's just under a year now since Dan's got involved publicly.
03:50Talk to us about what that's been like, any changes,
03:53have you noticed a marked increase in popularity?
03:56What's that been like?
03:58It's been brilliant.
04:00Dan's been a friend for a while,
04:02but as you say, in the last year decided to get involved in the business
04:06having been transfixed by the cronuts,
04:10so it's been great.
04:12It's obviously brought loads and loads of public interest,
04:15which has been really good fun.
04:18It's been the right balance of lots of interest and positivity
04:23with really no downside,
04:25so it's been great.
04:27In terms of business, it definitely made it busier,
04:30which was brilliant.
04:32We've managed to maintain, I think, that sort of level of growth that we've had.
04:35It was really busy for the first couple of weeks
04:37because everyone wanted to come and check it out.
04:39We didn't necessarily live in the area.
04:42What we've found is it probably accelerated the growth in the cafe
04:47that we were seeing week over week by three to six months,
04:51so it was really, really helpful from a business perspective.
04:55I think it just got our name out there a little bit as well
04:58for people who've maybe not heard of it or not come down before.
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