Vlad and Albina came to Chester under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. They opened High Coffee Bar on Rufus Court in December 2023.

“Life in Ukraine before the war was really bright, we felt freedom everywhere, especially in big cities, you can go wherever you want and you will find your own community. That’s how we met, we both love coffee and Kyiv has a lot of coffee shops.” says Albina. Speaking about the universal language of coffee she says “we loved coffee shops because when you go there people don’t care what your job is or how much money you have, if you like this coffee and the other person likes the coffee you can communicate”.

Albina is a trained psychologist with 2 Masters Degrees. ” When I was a student I worked as a barista. Vlad is an artist and he worked in Insurance company as well” she says referring to the art that decorates the walls of the small café.

Vlad says “I was drawing from my childhood and I continued. Coffee is an art for me as well. I worked with vehicle assistance, I was working 72 hours in a row in a call centre. I was working there until I came here.”

The couple met through a mutual friend in Kyiv. “Everyone who knew me and Albina separately said we were very similar and we should be together!” Vlad says. They were married in summer 2021. “We were the closest people on Earth and knew everything about each other, all the stresses and tragedies. It was natural to evolve from friends into a relationship. ” The Russian invasion began in February 2022.

Vlad described the long process of coming to Chester. “When the war started we spent a week in Ukraine, and then we went to Moldova because my father is Moldovan. ” Wanting to be independent the couple moved to France to be with Vlad’s sister. “We had no plans because its a war. We went to France to at least have some kind of connection. We had no money and were receiving help from volunteers. We crossed the border and volunteers picked us up. ” On the 9th March 2022 they arrived to Paris after moving between refugee centres.

“It was tiny in my sisters flat. We went to the refugee centre and they sent us to a hostel for refugees from all over the world, We tried to start life there, to get our official documents. Albina was spending 8 hours a day on the Underground travelling across Paris from one official building to another to find out what to do. It was really hard for us, with all the bureaucracy, one time we were refused because one guy didn’t recognise our passport as an official passport. We waited months just for one piece of paper, we were just exhausted. We prayed and thought “what do we do next?” because we never wanted to be in France.

“We thought of London because of Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter. We started to watch YouTube videos about the UK. To come to this country you have to be invited. It has to be someone who can host you for at least 6 months and the Government help you financially. ” The couple found a sponsor, whom they now live with in Nantwich.

On the decision to open a coffee shop Vlad says “We had nothing to lose, we left everything behind” decision to open a Coffee shop. The process was initially a struggle until a work coach at the job centre told Vlad about the Princes’ Trust. “They had an Enterprise course for young people and then we wrote a business plan to apply for a grant. ” They later met the King at an event celebrating the opening of Ukrainian section at the Liverpool Central Library, “It was on the same day that he opened the Eurovision which Liverpool hosted for Ukraine. We were introduced to him by Mel Giedroyc. We were there with our sponsor and our mentor from the Trust.”

“We spent most of our free time in Ukrainian coffee shops, we wanted to create that kind of space here as a social hub. ” Text on the décor states that the venue is free from anxiety and stress. “When we had the marathon on there was 1000s of people here, and we came here and it was peace and quiet”. High Coffee is an expression of Ukrainian culture and has become a meeting place for the Ukrainian community. “When the war broke out all the coffee shops closed, but then they went underground feeding people for free, because they wanted to help.” Vlad points to a display of Mad Heads coffee saying that support people on the front.

The café has been used for a variety of events in its short life so far. High has hosted candle making workshops, mental health support, art classes and coffee masterclasses. There is also a library of Ukrainian books and children’s reading classes have taken place.

“We really feel supported here. I can tell that British people are really polite and supportive. Also we have experienced hate. When we were looking to move to Chester, we had hundreds of comments saying “go back to Ukraine”, “go and fight ” .. in the end we found out that many of these people were immigrants themselves. There are people that illogically hate people for no reason. Some were saying that we just wanted money just because we were Ukrainians. We don’t want support because we are refugees, we are running a business. Anyone who lives in the UK can apply for the Princes’ Trust.” Vlad says.

The venue has received excellent feedback from customers, With Vlad’s passion for coffee evident he says that “there is a lot to explore and discover about coffee, its not just a beverage. The coffee that we offer is recognised from the farmers that grow it and farm it, we know the journey of each bean.”

“We want to be beneficial to society , having been through all of these events you know about, we know that if we help people, its worth it. Its priceless to realise that someone received support from this place. If we can support at least one person its worth it. The best thing to do is to do what you really love. You have good and bad in your life, you need to think about the good things and solve the bad. There will always be bad things but its up to you to solve them. If you really want it, keep pushing for it. I spent days walking round Chester looking for empty properties, I had no choice but to keep trying.

“The journey is not finished yet.” concludes Vlad.

High coffee are open 9 -5. Closed Saturdays