Being a regular somewhere is a special kind of feeling, isnāt it? People āknowā you, but they only know a certain version of you; the person who orders with a smile, and always says āpleaseā and āthanksā. The person who asks the staff how their week has been, and shares a little knowing smile with the barista when a new customer does something strange. Being a regular somewhere makes you feel at home, comfortable, and involves some increased level of human interaction, which I personally think is quite nice.
Having worked in many cafes, coffee shops, and lunch spots, as well as running one myself, I also understand the absolute joy of seeing someone be a regular somewhere. When I ran my street food stall at a twice-weekly market, I would take peopleās names to make sure every food order matched up with the correct customer. It was purely practical. However, what came of this, as I saw the same customers again and again, was that I came to know a hell of a lot of them by name. And I really could tell how happy someone was when they saw me write their name down on their order ticket without asking. Or if I wasnāt a hundred percent sure, playing the guessing game as I said their name to them as a question (e.g. āgreat, one Cali Burgerā¦ David?ā), which would also bring a sense of actual personal connection, as they could tell I was really trying to remember. This is something I feel has been lost in a world of ordering a McDonaldās on a big screen, when thereās someone behind the counter five metres away. And, of course, I take that option when Iām given it! Avoid a possible awkward interaction with a teenager who works for a conglomerate? Obviously. However, when patronising a small business in which you will always find the same person on the other side of the counter if you go in every Wednesday for a year, then hell yeah I want that human interaction!
All this to say, having been on both sides of the āregular customerā interaction, I think thereās something kind of special about it. Do you really know each other? No. Are you friends? Of course not. However, if you wanted to put in a bit more effort, and the other person was interested, could those two things be a possibility? Absolutely, yes. And this is exactly why I love 17 Grams on Boundary Road in Hove (technically, but itās in Portslade, really). Initially, when I moved to Portslade, I went there because it was literally the only good coffee shop in the area. This was in 2019, when it was still called The Plant Room, and was in a smaller premises. Having worked in speciality coffee shops for many years, I have become a coffee snob, Iām afraid to say. So a good coffee shop is a need for me, not a want.
Once I started my own business, my ādays offā werenāt really that, they were admin days, and getting out of my dark little flat, and out into the world for the perfect flat white, while I wrote my prep and order lists for the week, was the perfect way to spend those days. The wonderful thing about 17 Grams is that the staff, who of course have changed over the years, have always been lovely. Kind, friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely seem to love their jobs, which isnāt always the case in hospitality. Thereās also the other regulars. The people for whom 17 Grams is also a caffeine haven. When I moved to Brighton at the end of 2018, it felt lonely, knowing I would have to find a whole new community from scratch. Over time I gained friends and acquaintances, until it got to the point where I couldnāt go too many trips into town without bumping into someone I knew. And being a regular at 17 Grams is part of that. Even if youāve never talked to them, when you see the same faces every week, you canāt help but feel part of a community. That familiarity can be the light in an otherwise dark time in someoneās life.
Okay, that got real deep. The coffee is GOOD. Iām not a coffee expert, but I am an experienced coffee drinker, and this coffee holds up. They have a roastery in town now too, as well as their flagship shop in the laines. I also am a big brewer of coffee at home, and their beans have never let me down. A year or two ago they started doing brunch, and I absolutely love how interesting their menu is; itās much more creative than toast with bacon and poached eggs, and it changes seasonally. My personal favourite at the moā is the Mushroom Toast. They get good cakes and bakes in and they make their own meaty and vegan sausage rolls. Most importantly, they were one of the first shops on the high street to bring a little bit of the excitement of Brighton to Portslade. Followed by the Foghorn micropub, and Blend coffee, Portslade has started to become a little bit less of the butt of the joke in Brighton & Hove.
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