Personally I wouldn't go past Watts on Bank Street. He does real coffee, not this mass-produced stuff like you get at Costa, Starbucks et al.

They will last until the grants run out.

Cynthia the high street chains spend ridiculous amounts of money on advertising and branding, offering a multitude of options and convenience, but invariably failing on quality.
It is quality which will allow independent coffee shops to survive in this climate, and where coffee is concerned our experience suggests this can only be achieved through buying a quality product and investing in the staff who serve it.
I am passionate about supporting independent coffe shops/cafes as they can have so much more atmosphere and while they might not be the cheapest, they often represent great value for money. Unfortunately if an independent fails on quality, their customers will happily migrate back to the well branded but familiar chains.

Just opan another Gregs,you can get scran an drinks for a family of six for six ridge,cushty like eh!

I personally do not know how so many of the high street coffee chains survive when their coffee tastes awful.

More Botchergate bashing by the news and star what a surprise! The problem being is people are starting to believe the hype as can be seen by some of the comments on here. There is ample good venues which are trouble free on Botchergate and family friendly. Though with the reports in the paper and the councils lack of cleaning the streets it is no wonder people are looking elsewhere.

Best of luck V Cords I certainly wish you well with your venture as I'm sure there is a demand for this sort of thing. Perhaps the N&S can give you some publicity once you're up and running.

Couldn't agree more PaulM! I'm more than happy to pay a premium if the food is worth it.

@ Anon on 23 July 2012 at 08:16

It's lonely here in the real world isn't it....

For goodness sakes people, who can you get all worked up about someone getting off their backsides and trying to make a go of it ? This forum , the council, or the government cannot force people to open up certain businesses based on what one or two people claim to be the wish of the masses.

It's really very simple, if there is no demand, then the business will fail.

If you don't like it (which I find very narrow minded given you've not experienced it!) then don't go.

Personally, I'm quite happy paying a premium for good food in a nice atmosphere - give me that and I'll support it.

Sometimes I like a bottle of win with my Mrs and we watch the world go by - give me that and I'll support it.

Botchergate, well you can keep that.

Fair enough Anon, you make some very valid points and I certainly don't envy any business owner in the current climate. However, I don't think the likes of girly were referring so much to the actual cost but more the lack of family friendly venues. Having been turned away myself with a buggy for lack of room I know its not easy. I guess everything comes back to cost again here i.e. more space less tables etc its a difficult balance which I can appreciate.
Bald dad, I haven't tried the Skinny Gorilla yet so I'll give it a go some time - pity its closed on Sundays though!
The Merienda is a pleasant enough venue and it seems to cater quite well for families, but for me the food (which sounded great on the menu) was a bit of a disappointment and didn't quite match the ambiance of the setting on my last couple of visits.

As someone who will be opening a café/coffee shop soon in Carlisle I’m finding the comments on here quite good market research!. I hope to create a warm friendly place where people can relax & enjoy reasonably priced food. I certainly intend it to be family/buggy friendly as well. The food will be from local small suppliers wherever possible. Yes it’s a gamble but if you get it right you will be successful.