“We don’t want to have our car parking spaces taken up with people coming in for a cup of coffee” was the standard reply from Sam Bosworths father when the subject of introducing a coffee shop at Bosworths Garden Centre, near Kettering was brought up.

The “battle” was eventually won and in 2007 Poppies Coffee Shop was opened with 60 covers in a converted polytunnel.

Seven years on and the coffee shop turned over £389k in 2013, 15% of total annual turnover which has grown significantly every year since the coffee shop opened, having been almost static for the four years prior to 2007.

20 extra covers including some easy seating have since been added, the car park is busy at times of year it would have previously been quiet and the average transaction value in February was £7.47 excluding VAT.

And all that achieved without a cooker!  With a restricted site, Sam and his wife Tania are unable to expand the existing garden centre, so they’ve had to build their coffee shop business with minimal “back office” space.  A portacabin has been added to the “kitchen” but that just houses the dishwasher and fridge’s for storage.

With only a small combi oven and two grills the menu is mainly panini’s, jackets, sandwiches, baguettes, soup and a special of the day.  Breakfast was added 2 years ago and afternoon teas are a big hit today, especially as a gift.

Tania explains; “we don’t have the space to make our own cakes or soups so we buy in the best we can locally and then prepare everything fresh to order.”

“We’re not trend setters, we just provide a service to our customers, doing what we do very well for a real mix of people who come in.  Our aim is for people to come here every week, not just for a treat.”

Local celebrity vicar, Richard Coles, who partnered Jimmy Sommerville in The Communards, certainly backed up the Bosworths objectives:  “It’s a great place to bunk off for a coffee and a bite to eat” he told GTN Food Xtra, “and it’s Bossies, so it’s great for shopping too!”

Joy Smith, taking tea with the vicar, used to run a market stall selling plants in Corby alongside Sam's dad when he was selling eggs & chickens.  She uses the Poppies Coffee shop as a regular meeting place to catch up with her friends “I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”

When it comes to drinks they sell 2.05 cups of coffee to each pot of tea, even with a choice of 6 different tea blends.  Arden supplies their tea range, hot chocolate and filter coffee.  After a visit to the HTA Catering Conference in 2013 Tania changed to Illy coffee for their espresso coffees.

Sam and Tanias Top Tips

• Checkout second hand options when buying replacement equipment – there are some great bargains to be found.
• Be careful with the price of products.  Ham must look good and taste good.  Don’t compromise on the quality but it doesn’t have to be the most expensive.
• Have two sandwich grills rather than one double grill.  That way if one fails you can still deliver hot food while the other is being repaired.
• Use a catering offer to drive garden centre footfall.  Our Reward card holders get free coffee and cake for two on their birthday; we now have over 4000 members.
• Coffee Shops are great cash generators.  Where else in the garden centre can you deliver nearly £400k turnover with only £3k stock?
• Customers expect Wi-Fi now, they live in the digital age.  Our TV screens display our offers and garden events.
• If anything goes wrong it needs to be sorted straight away: “If you sell a houseplant and it dies the customer often blames themselves.  If you sell them a luke warm cup of coffee all hell breaks loose!”
• When seeking ideas and inspiration, look at things on your scale.  The HTA Catering Conference, Choice Marketing and the RBIS scheme have all been rich sources of advice and ideas for us.

Given the restricted nature of the site in Burton Latimer, just off the A14, it’s no surprise, and no secret, that Sam and Tania are planning for a new Bosworths Garden Centre as soon as a suitable site can be found.  That will mean a new Poppies Coffee Shop and Restaurant.  “We look forward to being able to employ a patisserie chef and make our own cakes and other products.  We’d love to be able to sell them in the new food retailing area too,” said Tania.  “Bosworths started as a farm gate shop,” added Sam “and we already make a lot of our ‘Grown at Bosworths’ logo.  It’s our point of difference and as a local business we look forward to adding ‘Made at Bosworths’ to our food.”

But what would Sam’s father, who sadly died not long after Poppies opened, make of the catering side of the business now:  “He would absolutely love being able to pop in and sit and have a coffee and a chat with our customers” said Sam, “he would be in his element!”