Notes coffee shop to open two new London sites as Leeds closes
Notes coffee, food and wine shop is set to open two new London sites, with the first expected for November this year, amid news the Leeds branch has closed.
Co-founder Rob Robinson told The Caterer that a new site was planned for within the new King's Cross development in November, and another is expected in the yet-to-be-completed Crossrail building in Canary Wharf next May.
He also confirmed that the company's only site outside of the capital, Notes Leeds, has closed down.
The venue, which had been part of the Trinity Kitchen development, was open for less than a year before closing at the end of July. Surrounded by bars and street-food-inspired restaurants, it reportedly struggled to attract enough customers looking for coffee.
Although the group will focus on London for the time being, the Leeds closure did not mean that the brand had ruled out openings outside the capital in future, Robinson explained, although no new sites outside of London had yet been confirmed.
He said: "The location didn't work for us. But it was definitely less about Leeds being wrong, and more about the [wrong] location."
Twitter also picked up on the closure; a user named Tweets by missstephwalker wrote that she was "surprised" that the shop had closed down. She also said: "It's a shame. I did wonder if it was a location thing though. It wasn't an obvious place to go for a coffee…We came for beer :)".
Another user, Tweets by simoneats , said it "always seemed busy when I visited" but that it was "maybe a poor location." He added: "Hope [Notes doesn't] leave the city for good."
Co-founded by Robinson and Edward Halfon, Notes currently has three sites across central London, including in Covent Garden, and sells a selection of coffee blends and all-day food options such as granola, eggs, charcuterie and moussaka.
It also sells wine and snacks in the evening, coffee-related items such as mugs and gift sets, and operates three travelling coffee carts around the capital.
Its newest site opened in Moorgate in July, while its own Roastery is located off Theobalds Road in central London and opened in August last year.
