Make & Brew is a small family business that started in October 2015 in its original café space in Shirley. In 2019 St James Road Methodist Church, about to begin a large building project, asked the café to run the new community space it was creating, and Make & Brew moved further up the road into the church. Hannah, Grant and family run it today.

The café pays fair wages and offers supported work placements to people who need them to widen their skills. The food is kept simple and fresh: cakes come from local bakeries or are baked on site, fresh produce comes through Bellord and Brown from the south coast as far as possible, and there is a Teapigs tea of the week. Make & Brew also works with local artists and crafters on creative workshops, and takes bookings.

The coffee is Monmouth’s espresso blend and its decaf, bought through Monmouth’s direct trade with farmers and roasted at its roastery in London, with smaller retail packs of beans to take home.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Make & Brew