Pictured (left to right) Louise Simon & Vanessa
Pub by night – kids’ café by day
Three siblings from Clapton have come up with a cunning plan to gee up trade and cater for local families.
Each morning sisters Louise and Vanessa Welch transform their brother’s Northwold Road boozer with brightly coloured table cloths, colourful blinds and buckets of toys into a children’s café. And they have a packed schedule of music and craft activities.
Louise explained: “The idea for Café Sov came from our brother Simon who has been running the E5 pub The Royal Sovereign for a few years. He hated the waste of it sitting there empty until 2pm every day. And we both love baking and cooking. We can also manage to juggle running the café with looking after our own young children.
“We also noticed the lack of cafés in the residential area between Stoke Newington High Street and Upper Clapton Road, where we grew up and where our parents still live today.
“Every weekday morning we magically transform the from a proper London boozer into polka dotted café. Then at 2pm it all turns back into a pub.
“We want the café to be somewhere everyone feels welcome, from breastfeeding mother’s to freelancers and pensioners. There’s plenty of room for children to run around and for parents to park their buggies. We also have baby change facilities, a covered garden area and a kids’ play corner so parents can drink their coffee in peace!”
Groups interested in running classes at the café are invited to get in touch via Twitter or Facebook.
Café Sov is open 9am - 2pm Weekdays. The menu includes pastries, home-made cakes, sandwiches and a couple of lunch specials (which change daily).