02/10/2026
THE HONEST SEPTEMBER UPDATE 👀
September was… expensive. 😂
New equipment. New menus. New ideas. Stock. Improvements. All the little costs that somehow become bloody big costs when you add them together.
And trading hasn’t exactly been easy either.
Kids went back to school. Holidays finished. Household budgets got squeezed. By the end of the month, you can almost physically feel people waiting for payday.
That’s the reality of running a café. ☕️
Some days you think you’ve cracked it.
Other days you wonder where everybody has gone. 😂
But here’s the interesting bit…
September also gave us some really encouraging signs.
Our social media reach continues to be ridiculous for a little place on Pickford Street.
We’re seeing more new faces coming through the door.
People are spending more when they visit, which means our average transaction value is moving in the right direction.
The new food has been really well received.
Breakfast is developing.
Lunch is developing.
The building is starting to feel like more than just a café.
And probably the biggest validation of that…
Our first business event SOLD OUT. 🙌
That matters because the long-term idea for The Venue was never simply:
“Open a café and hope people buy coffee.”
The idea was to build somewhere people actually want to be.
Coffee. Food. Work. Meetings. Events. Business. Community. Conversation.
A proper little hub in Milnsbridge.
Are we there yet?
Absolutely not. 😂
There are things that aren’t working well enough. There are things we’ll change. There are costs we need to get under control and we need more people through the door consistently.
But that’s business.
September wasn’t a month where everything suddenly became easy.
It was a month where the idea started looking a little more believable.
And I’ll take that.
October… you’re up. 👀☕️
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