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I run UK’s cheapest cafe where drinks cost 70% LESS than Costa – customers have come back every day for 17 YEARS
The no frills cafe will set you back a mere £1
THE owner of a coffee shop so cheap it sells coffee for a quid says his customers have come back every day since it opened - seventeen years ago.
Mike Norris, the owner of Kings Cafe in Eccles, Manchester says he tries his best to keep prices low as the area is not the most affluent.
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This month it was revealed the price of a takeaway coffee has passed £5 in London as retailers get to grips with rocketing costs and heat waves spoiling harvests overseas.
The takeaway coffee industry has been hit by rising energy and labour prices, while extreme weather has caused the wholesale price of coffee beans to increase by a fifth since last year.
But Mike is battling against the soaring costs with a mug of coffee in the no frills cafe setting you back a mere £1, a mug of tea is 90p and hot chocolate is also 90p.
He has built a solid following of local customers who have loyally paid the cafe a visit for the best part of two decades.
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Mike says: "I have customers who have been here since day one of it opening and come here every day.
Pointing to a little boy tucking into his lunch he says: "He comes here straight from school and asks for his dinner. We get a lot of workers from different areas.
"It has to be cheap - it's in the centre of Eccles - it's not the most affluent place in Britain."
Jeffrey Young, CEO of the Allegra Group, an analyst, said the price of a typical takeaway coffee would hit £5 “within three to five years”, based on current wage growth and inflation predictions.
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But customers at the cafe, typically nicknamed a greasy spoon say customers would refuse to hand over that amount of cash.
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Regular customer Teresa Potter, 63, lives in Eccles and loves popping into the cafe daily to see other familiar friendly faces.
She says: "It's all nice and cheap, which is good as it is difficult for people.
"I come in nearly every day, I chat with people and I know people by name."
Four-year-old James says he loves the food and the people - plus he has his own individual benefit.
Mike gives the youngster a sweet treat on the house once he has eaten his meal.
James says: "I like the burgers and the sausages. There are nice people here and I get given chocolate as a treat."
Carole Mellor, 77, says she also visits daily and says it's not just the cheap prices it's the sociable aspect the cafe offers her.
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She says: "It's not just the coffee and the food, it's the social side. Everybody knows everybody else. I have met people here and it is good value."
She says of coffee shops selling coffee for a fiver: "If one opened in Eccles, people just would not go."
Prices at the Kings Cafe
- Coffee - £1
- Tea - 90p
- Hot chocolate - 90p
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