Coming soon to Frodsham Street, Bean & Cole is the City’s latest offering for coffee fans. Ian McCardle, and partner Nicole are originally from Nantwich and decided upon opening a coffee shop whilst working in Australia. Support from friends and family made the idea possible and after looking at many sites including Wilmslow, Didsbury and Liverpool, they decided upon Chester.
“”We love Chester” says Ian “Its really easy to get to and we always came up for the races.” The couple praised the feel of the city as well as its high number of tourist visitors. Tim Kenney of KenneyMoore helped the couple find the premises which for almost 50 years previously housed Dave Miller Cycles. Of the streets reputation for being run down and full of discount shops, as well as the much debated “shared space” Ian says: “We have read a bit about Frodsham street! We are not from Chester but we are slowly picking up on things. You get all kinds of people walking down here, lots of people commuting this way. This street isn’t the most glamourous but hopefully its going to bring people here . We were away when all this regeneration was happening. We spoke to other shop owners and they said it was a rough 18 months for them, but people have said its benefited them. ” Ian admits the council have spent a lot of money on the street but hopes the area will be fully pedestrianised in the future.
The focus will be on good coffee, with a basic menu including pastries and salmon/avocado on toast as well as seasonal specials, with a focus on local suppliers. Noted sign maker Hairy Mitten recently painted the coffee shop’s signage. The couple are aiming to open next week and will be paying homage to Dave Miller in some way , with members of the retired cycle shop owner’s family having already been in to offer their best wishes.
“The coffee scene in Chester is growing and there is a market for it” says Nicole.
“Some people don’t like that, but we love it! Everyone we’ve spoken to has been really nice and we don’t want to step on anyone’s’ toes!” smiles Ian.
The Chester blog 