Effy: Popular city centre coffee shop heading to new site

A popular city centre coffee shop is headed to a new site in Hockley where it will showcase a “bold, striking” new look and offer an innovative staff welfare policy to its baristas.

In May Nottingham World reported that coffee shop Effy was looking to relocate from its current base on Houndsgate, off St Peter’s Square. 

Now owner and proud “coffee nerd” Mitch Farr has confirmed to us that the business will be moving to a fresh site at 18 Heathcoat Street in Hockley. 

Farr signed for the Heathcoat Street lease in July and is looking at an autumn opening for the new store.

Effy has been at its present location since opening in early 2019, and with the five-year break clause in the lease due in February next year, Farr felt it was time for a change of location.

“Houndsgate is pretty average as a street and it feels like the council has neglected it for ages. It feels like we should be in Hockley. The time is right.

“We bake everything on site and we are at capacity with that. It’s not really about extra space to fit people in . We’ll only be getting four extra seats.”

With the move the shop will get a completely new look, reflecting Effy’s developing customer base and identity. Farr has appointed Sneinton Market-based surface specialist Awn with the aesthetics of the new site.

Farr said: “The whole design is different. It will be a bold striking design, with deep plumb walls and ceiling, and a bright white floor. 

“The old look was as an ‘Instagram café’. It’ll be more sophisticated and grown up in its design.”

“I’ve always believed you should be known for the product.”

He added that the site’s new aesthetics will contain details that reflect Heathcoat Street’s heritage as a centre of lacemaking. The street is named after renowned lace pioneer John Heathcoat.

As well as continuing to serve Effy’s popular laminated dough pastries, baked in store, Farr is looking to expand with a limited evening service of low intensity wines.

He is also committed to paying his baristas £15 per hour and to guarantee staff members four-day working weeks, which he said is “unheard of in the country”. 

Farr said that this would “put pressure on the various mini chains” in Hockley to offer the same conditions to their own staff members. “It’s a completely new way to do hospitality,” he added.