A popular Swansea valley coffee shop is being taken over by a couple who served three-course meals to people outside their homes during lockdown. Food by Sean No6Hundred will open its doors on Friday, October 14 and are launching with an 'Autumnal Afternoon Tea' which you can pre-book.
No6Hundred in Ynystawe first opened in 2014 by Donna Edwards and has been well known for its afternoon teas which people came from across south Wales and beyond to try. While the owner said she has enjoyed being part of the community for the last eight years, she is ready for a change and was looking for another business to take over the coffee shop.
Food by Sean have recently been announced as the new faces behind No6Hundred and received over 1,000 enquiries on the day of the announcement. The couple behind Food by Sean are former head chef of Langland Brasserie Sean Martin, 39, from West Yorkshire and his wife Nicola Jaine Martin, 36, from Llansamlet who worked as a regional manager for a pharmaceutical company before she was made redundant during the pandemic. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
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With a baby to provide for and an uncertain future ahead of them, the couple started their own business and served afternoon teas before finding a gap in the market during lockdown. While people were unable to enjoy a slap up meal in a restaurant due to Covid restrictions, Sean and Nicola decided to bring the restaurant to them. The pair bought a catering van and parked on the driveways of customers to serve them three to four course meals from the safety of their own home. You can read more about that here.
"The business just took off and we've grown, offering fine dining services and things people couldn't access during lockdown. We brought the restaurant to them without breaking any Covid laws. We would just park on their drive and cook food there," explained Nicola.
The couple now own a café in Llansamlet, employ 10 staff and still offer outside catering as well as picking up the keys to their new Ynystawe business. While the family are already busy running their Swansea café in the Rainbow Business Centre, Nicola said she is excited to set up in the No6hundred coffee shop which is known for its opulent and eccentric interiors which Nicola described as a "quirky little venue".
Renowned for their afternoon teas, the duo hope to put on a "Downton Abbey-style' experience as a tea room in Ynystawe with plans for waiters to wear white gloves and traditional uniforms and there are exciting plans to open a French patisserie counter too.
"We've got nearly three hundred reviews all about our afternoon teas, everybody loves them because Sean makes them from scratch. So our aim with No6Hundred is that we'll continue with the afternoon teas." In the evenings, Food by Sean will offer fine-dining, with a "beautifully-executed", small and seasonal menu which will change regularly.
The couple, who met while working on a cruise ship 15 years ago, said they recall driving past No6Hundred in the winter and admiring the elaborate Christmas decorations on the shop front. Nicola said, "We've always done so well at Christmas time with Food by Sean and I've always said 'Wouldn't it be lovely to have somewhere like that to do our afternoon teas from'."
Nicola said she imagined a cosy winter atmosphere with Santa reading to children in the corner and felt the coffee shop was the perfect venue for it. "Donna's done such an amazing job at decorating it and everything has been done so beautifully. We're not going to change anything and hopefully just excel the offering to what the building deserves and what Donna's achieved and take it to that next step."
On her fears surrounding her new business venture, Nicola said: "We've been successful in such scary times and there's cafés closing continuously and you do get quite scared that quite big names are closing down for whatever reason. And we've just taken on another business and you think, 'Oh, should I have done that?' But I think with the amount of interest we've had on social media, it's definitely the right thing to do."
Sean and Nicola's son Kian is now three years old and Nicola describes Kian as their first baby and Food by Sean as their second. She explained that when they first started delivering afternoon teas she had him strapped to her chest. "People have seen our journey, they've always rooted for us and it's quite a community. You've just done your job and worked so hard. We've missed huge family occasions just to ensure that somebody has their afternoon teas or fine dining. Because it means everything to us - our customers mean everything to us."
When asked how Nicola feels to look back on the journey her and her husband have been through with their two "babies", she said: "It's emotional. This whole business was started because I was made redundant, I had a very high paying job and it was a very scary time. We'd just had our son."
"If you went back three years ago and said you'll be in this situation now where people are wanting to work with you and you're taking on a second premises - I'd have never have dreamt it. I would've thought 'how are we going to keep a roof over our heads?' I'm overwhelmed with gratitude really that people have supported us so much. I'm excited for the journey ahead, who knows where we'll be in the next two years."
Bookings are open for Autumnal Afternoon Teas which cost £22.95 per person with tea or £27.95 with a glass of champagne. Message the 'Food by Sean No6Hundred' Facebook page to book.
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