VELASQUEZ VAN WEZEL
Tell us how did you create Velasquez and Van Wezel? What kind of processes did you go through?
Our idea of running our own coffee shop evolved over time. Oscar was already working in cafes in West London, and together whilst discovering our passion for specialty coffee, we realised that, with our combined skills set, we could run our own specialty coffee business. It took about a year from starting our search for a suitable unit to opening our shop. In the meantime, we did a workshop at the London School of Coffee on how to run a coffee shop. I (Martin) was working for a global market research firm at the time and took some weeks off to set up the coffee shop. I returned part-time, but soon realized the coffee shop was absorbing most of my time and decided to give up my corporate job.
Photograph: Enzo Cerri
What was the most challenging thing whilst you were establishing Velasquez and Van Wezel?
Crouch End is not short of places that serve coffee. Initially, locals were thinking of us as yet another coffee shop and didn’t think we’d have a chance of survival. Though, soon Crouch End found out that we were passionate about coffee and the word started spreading that our coffee was of consistently high quality.
Where does the name come from?
The name Velasquez and Van Wezel is a combination of the two surnames of the founders; Oscar Velasquez and Martin van Wezel. We chose this name because we liked the alliteration.
Also, it symbolizes who we are, a Colombian and a Dutch owner. Some of our heritage can be found in our shop; we sell Colombian filter coffee whenever available, our coffee machine (Spirit by Kees van der Westen) is Dutch, we regularly sell beans from renowned Dutch roasters and serve delicious Dutch Apple cake from time to time. By using our own names and being present in the shop on a daily basis, we’re also highlighting we’re an independent business, which is much appreciated by our Crouch End customers.
What is your most popular drink?
Our most popular drink is a Flat White. However, we are proud to be serving a Tinto, which is a small filter coffee, which is also how the Colombians traditionally drink coffee back in Colombia. During the summer we make a mean cold brew – using Square Mile’s Sweetshop blend.
How would you describe VVW’s atmosphere?
We like to think of ourselves as a friendly team passionate about making coffee. Our shop has big windows and is very light and transparent, which gives the place a low threshold for new customers and which has led to varied customer base.
Photograph: Enzo Cerri
You have a blog on your website that is dedicated to coffee shops that your team recommends. How did you come up with this idea?
A previous employee helped us with our marketing and social media planning. She suggested we should incorporate our travel experiences.
We then thought it would be a good idea to make this a team effort. We encourage our baristas to visit one or more coffee shops on their travels, bring back some beans and have some breakfast or lunch on us. In return they share their experience on the blog. Due to the pandemic, the blog is on hold for a little while, but hopefully we can resume soon!
How are you coping with the pandemic? What is your approach to the entire process as VVW?
We closed our shop on the 23 rd March. People were not used to social distancing yet, which became an issue inside and on the pavement in front of the shop. With the announced help from the government, there was no need for us to keep the shop open and we decided the most responsible thing to do was to do our bit of social distancing.
During the first few weeks we stayed home, attended a virtual coffee festival and worked our way exploring all options to ensure we would survive financially. A few weeks in we set up a delivery service of beans in and around Crouch End and then we started preparing to re-open as ‘take away only’, as we felt people had become more accustomed to social distancing. We already had done 2 days ‘take away only’ prior to the 23rd March, but now we had time to think through a better lay-out for the shop.
After 5 weeks of being closed, we re-opened. The first few days were slow, but it gave us time to get used to the new set up. It was certainly great to see our customers again!
Photograph: Enzo Cerri
You have very loyal customers that support you especially during this pandemic, how did you create a special community like this?
Most Crouch Enders are very proud of the area they live in including its range of independent shops. Despite being a busy and fast paced cafe we try to have a little chat with many of our customers and make them feel welcome. On most days either Oscar or myself will be in the shop. Our customers like it that they know the owners and want us to do well. We’ve been lucky Crouch End embraced us and so it happened we became a little hub in this community.
When lockdown started and we had to close the shop we missed our face to face contact with our customers. We kept in touch through social media at first. It was great when the Magic Stamp added the option for our customers to buy coffee and beans vouchers. This came at the right time for us and helped us a little with cash flow. Many of our customers were keen to show their support and invested in some vouchers. We followed this by setting up our beans delivery service. We now deliver free in Crouch End and surrounding areas.
As a business partner of the Magic Stamp, how do you think it helped/supported your business?
We’d been playing with the idea to move our loyalty scheme into the digital age. One early Saturday morning I was in Gentlemen Baristas at Borough Market where they had just started using the Magic Stamp. I asked for their feedback and they were super excited telling me how good it was. I was sold.
We like it as we no longer having to use disposable paper cards, we have a bit more visibility on our customers’ behaviour through the back office date, but mostly we like it because our customers love it, i.e. improved customer engagement. Customers come in with their friends and we see them showing their friends how cool it is...a little magic.In addition, we helped convince some of our less digitally savvy customers to download the app and with this we made them feel a bit more ready for the 2020s. We were the first in Crouch End but now several other businesses in the area also use it.