Sadly, this week marks the last instalment of 2016 Manchester Coffee Fest’s “The Business of Brewing”. As Sam Tawil (Bold St) and Claire Wallace (Brew Lab) join the panel of Tim Bosworth (Hoxton North), Pete Gibson (Grindsmith), and Alison Bell (BLK Coffee Heaton), the conversation turns more to the idea of “northern nuance” – what is different about running a coffee business in “the north”? Together, they examine the roles that food, space, staff, and service all play in building a successful coffee business, coming to the conclusion that whilst it is harder and harder to be perceived as “unique”, there are actually lots of little ways to differentiate your business from others’. Moreover, that even if they were given the opportunity to change something fundamental about their business when it was first getting off the ground, that maybe things progressed just as they should have.

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