A cosy café in a beautiful part of Devon is a real safe haven adored by locals who love to visit on a daily basis. The Cool Beans Coffee Bar, on Poundwell Street in Modbury is tucked away just off the high street and is a hidden gem that's been kept alive by those living in the area.
The cafe, owned by Sam, 41, and his wife Charlotte Lawrence, is centred around its community and is used as a place to meet up for a coffee and great food. The couple moved to Modbury five and a half years ago and took over the business in January 2021. With only three months of trading before being forced to close its doors due to lockdown, it managed to pull through by offering takeaways and is now a very popular cafe in Modbury.
We visited The Cool Beans Coffee Bar, which has a vast amount of seating indoors and outdoors. The seating area in two separate buildings is cosy and fancy, while the outdoors has almost pub-like tables, and a little hideaway with a large table.
With so many places to choose from, It took me a while to figure out where I wanted to sit, but I eventually decided on the outdoor hideaway which felt tucked away and like a private garden. As it was the morning, I looked through the breakfast menu, which had a wide variety of options, and chose a breakfast wrap, along with a latte.
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As Sam brought my breakfast wrap to me, which he'd cooked himself, we thought we would ask him a couple of questions about the business, and what life is like in Modbury. He told DevonLive: "We took over from what was a previous cafe here in January 2021, so not an ideal start with lockdown. However, we had three months of trading before Mr Boris told us to shut our doors and batten down the hatches. We feared the worst as we invested a lot of money taking over the business and then had plans to change it.
"The thing that saved us during lockdown was being able to do takeaways only and we are lucky enough to have a stable door at the front, so we shut the bottom half of the door and kept the top open. We kind of hoped locals would come on their daily walk and have their coffees which they were allowed at the time. And they did, they kept us alive and that's the local community."
"That time over lockdown allowed us to take the time to chat with people, get to know them, what their coffee preferences were and just as a community, get to know who's who. Modbury as a community kept us alive as a business. We're trying to re-invest in the business to give that back. We've always said that we're not in this to be millionaires, we live in Modbury, so we're part of this community, and looked at what's missing and what we need facilities and menu wise. So we made a promise to them because they kept us alive and we will pay them back."
Sam went on to say: "We are supported so well by Modbury. We have the regulars who come in at certain times and at certain tables. We know what they're having, we see them either park up or stroll across the car park, so we start prepping their orders and get their coffees going. We know our regulars like clockwork. Their feedback to us is that we kept them going. There is an elderly community here, as there is anywhere, and we are their hub if you like, their meeting place."
"If there's someone missing, we send up the flares and find them. Equally there is an up and coming young and vibrant community here as well, especially with the new estate at the top. So there's young families there and the next generation that's coming through. We want to cater for them too. We are trying to keep it equal for everybody and just make it a place people want to come to. A safe haven if you like with good coffee and food."
Talking about its new seasonal menu, he continued: "We are just about to launch our summer menu, it's been a long time coming. We've added some trending items, there's some exciting new options on there like a brand new kids menus for the families. With prices, we try to keep as much value for customers with everything going on in the world. We also have some vegan options on our summer menu as there's a strong vegan community here. A family can come here and we aim for it to be an affordable treat."
He added: "Locals really look after their high-street." He also said that the cafe is famous for its flat whites and its popular mango smoothies.
After our lovely conversation, I tucked into my breakfast wrap and it was the perfect way to start off my busy day ahead, along with a frothy and delicious latte. The wrap included sausage, bacon and egg, all locally sourced in the South Hams area. The wrap was slightly toasted and upon arrival, was piping hot, including the plate.
The presentation was exceptional and it definitely beats any other wraps I've had in the past. It was full of flavour and the eggs were cooked to perfection. You could also taste that the ingredients were fresh and not from a supermarket. Everything was easy to cut and it wasn't messy to eat. I think this has to be one of my favourite breakfasts so far and I will definitely be back.
If you're looking to visit Modbury, then I highly recommend starting your day at The Cool Beans Coffee Bar because not only is the food divine, the service is great and it has a lovely atmosphere.
