FIRST GLIMPSE: Sandbach's newest coffee shop is just 'purrfect'
By Deborah Bowyer 18th Aug 2021
Step inside Sandbach's newest coffee shop, the Black Cat Coffee House, and you can be forgiven for thinking you're in the sunny Mediterranean.
A brightly coloured terracotta wall behind the counter and big expansive ceilings and huge windows at the front overlooking Welles Street greet customers.
Tasty freshly made focaccia bread made with a host of vegetables from courgette and artichoke to Mediterranean vegetables are on display.
Tomorrow (August 19th), when the coffee house officially opens, there will be different flavours but always made with Italian flour.
And homemade cinnamon twirls, a signature dish of Sam Sweeney, the son of owner Helen Sweeney, will be gracing the counter.
On the walls are various framed posters from France and Italy, places the Sweeney family from Haslington have visited on holiday.
On the back wall, the famous "Le Chat Noir" framed poster sets off the area nicely and it is this which is the inspiration for the coffee shop's name.
Helen said: "We love the poster and have wanted to open a coffee shop for years. It seemed the right name to give it.
"We were in Paris quite a few years ago when we got engaged when we bought the poster and we used to have a black cat called Elsa.
"We love the bright open airy space and the big window at the front," said mum-of-three Helen who, with her family, spent time turning the building into the coffee shop.
Standing empty for around 18 months, the building used to house The Front Room beauty business.
These days it has Moroccan tiles behind the counter and on each table and the business has applied for an alcohol licence so they can do wine and tapas evenings.
"We are proud of the Jabberwocky coffee blend from Hasbean which we serve but the business is also about the food and providing a calming and welcoming place to sit."
Upstairs there's a handy beautifully decorated room which will be either used by a book club or rented out for meetings as and when.
The tables are made from reclaimed scaffolding boards and the chairs were upcycled by Helen from their former use as chairs at Burwardsley Village Hall.
Another quirky side to the business are the Black Cat musical boxes which Helen has made to sell and the knitted black cats, displayed at the bottom of the stairs. .
All three of Helen and Damien's children, Joe, Sam and Neve, have been involved in the business.
Joe designed the logo while both Sam and Neve are having a hand in cooking food to sell in the coffee shop. The coffee shop is on Instagram @blackcatcoffees and a Facebook page – the Black Cat Coffee House. Despite being hard work – the Sweeney family have spent weeks working away in the building to get it ready – Helen is delighted with the result. "It couldn't have worked out better," she said. "The building was empty for a while and it's good for the town centre to have this building back in use."
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