"Alex and Nikki Melhuish moved from Manchester to open up Home, an independent cafe serving delicious coffee
A couple have left behind urban life in Manchester to open an independent coffee shop in Alsager. Alex and Nikki Melhuish had previously lived in Manchester, but decided to move back to Nikki's hometown of Alsager and open up cafe Home.
Alex, 38, had been working as an architect in Manchester when the couple moved back during Covid. When offices began re-opening, the pair decided to stay put.
Alex and Nikki, also 38, opened up their coffee shop on August 13 2022 and are already regularly packed out. And the work isn't done yet, with plans to open up more space to host community events and arts workshops in the future.
"Through Covid we moved out of the city, then when offices started to opening up I decided I didn't want to go back. I've had an ambition to do something like this, and there wasn't anywhere like this in Alsager, we wanted it to be quite different.
"I left a very good job, but the parts of architecture that I always enjoyed most was meeting and talking with clients. I can do that a hundred times a day here. I wanted to make sure that we had something that was warm and welcoming, we put a lot of effort into that.
Since opening the cafe has proven very popular, and was packed out with guests when we visited. There was a great selection of coffee, which we can confirm is excellent, as well as pastries and food sourced from partnerships with local producers.
"We didn't know what to expect, and it was a risk," said Alex. "We couldn't have asked for a better reaction, it's been phenomenal."
And Alex has put his professional experience to good use in designing the space. He said: "I wanted to make it light and bright but still welcoming. We want people to feel like it's their home."
In addition to the space at the front there is also an extra room at the back which will be converted into "The Studio." This is still a work in progress, but Alex hopes that they can use the space for business to rent out, as well as to host community projects and arts workshops.
Home is located on Lawton Road in Alsager. It's open from 9am to 4pm on weekdays and 9.30am to 4.30pm on weekends."
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