30/05/2026
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of my soppy posts, but I’m feeling quite emotional this week. In a good way 🥹
We’re getting close to our 7th birthday at the Rothwell shop and every week seems to get better and better. New customers keep finding us, while so many of our originals still pop in week after week. Summer always feels a little bit special too, with sunshine on the terrace, iced lattes flowing and that lovely buzz that comes with longer days.
Gray’s WX is 15 months old now. A completely different beast, but a wonderful place to be nonetheless. We’ve hosted some incredible events over the last year, with many more still to come. If you haven’t visited yet, have a look at the WX website and see what’s coming up.
And most recently, I’ve joined the team at Swillington Wilds with Wild Gray’s. This place has stolen a piece of my heart. The calm I feel when I arrive at the lake each morning is hard to describe. I’ve always loved wildlife, but some of the things I’ve seen over the last few weeks have felt like something straight out of a David Attenborough documentary.
The thing all three places have in common is people. The teams, the customers, the members, the friendships we’ve built 🩷
The emotion comes from just how lucky I feel. I’ve said it before – you don’t open a coffee shop to become a millionaire. Not every day is easy, but I wouldn’t change a thing. (Apart from VAT. VAT can get in the bin 😂.)
Mostly, I just feel very grateful. Grateful for our teams, especially in this bloomin’ heat 🥵. Grateful for our customers, who continue to choose us. And grateful that somehow, this little idea I had all those years ago has grown into something that reaches across so much of our community.
None of this happens without the people who choose to spend their time and money with us, and we never take that for granted.
Seven years in Rothwell. Fifteen months in Wakefield. A brand new adventure at Wilds.
I can’t wait to see what’s next, and I hope you’ll stick with us for the journey 🩷
Happy weekend, peeps.
Big love 🩷🦢
H ###
