York Curious Coffee Company boss on plans for Clifton

Eddie Copley-Farnell, who runs The Curious Coffee Company, spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about his plans to open a new café in Clifton.

The business owner said he was hopeful the new venue would prove popular, adding it was set to open in November with works set to begin in the coming weeks.

It comes after a planning application to convert the vacant Boots pharmacy, which closed in February 2024, into the new café was approved on Wednesday, August 26.

RECOMMENDED READING:

The Curious Coffee Company café planned for Clifton would seat up to 40 people.

The company already has branches in Haxby and Easingwold, which opened 10 and 13 years ago respectively, along with a bakery in Brandsby.

Mr Copley-Farnell told LDRS he hoped the Clifton café would be as busy as the business’ other two sites once they get established there.

The business owner said: “I used to live in the area until I was 18 so this is quite important to me.

“My wife used to be a pharmacist so it’s nice that we’re taking this space on to do what we do now.

“It’s a bit of a case of us sticking our finger in the air but I think it’ll be a food location and I’m hopeful it’ll work a treat and we’ll have people queuing for miles.

A drink being served at a Curious Coffee Company café (Image: The Curious Coffee Company/Facebook)

“We’ll serve coffees and baked goods during the day and I’m hoping that we can do pizzas on some of the evenings.

“I’m hoping to spend a bit of time in Clifton, at least in the beginning.

“We’ve got a fantastic team, some of which will come with us, but if we’re as busy as I’m hoping to be we could bring 10 or 15 jobs to Clifton.

“It’ll be nice to bring that building back to life because it’s been empty for a while and be part of what’s going on at Clifton Green which is great.”

Plans approved by City of York Council on Wednesday are set to see new hanging and facia signs installed as part of the conversion.

It would open from 7.30am to 5pm on Monday and Tuesday, until 10pm from Wednesday to Friday, from 8.30am to 11pm on Saturday and from 9am to 9pm on Sunday and bank holidays.

An application to licence the unit for alcohol sales has also been lodged and is open for public comments until Wednesday, September 23.