A coffee shop on Cheshire West’s coastline has gained amazing national recognition as the best designed lounge bar in the country.
Elephant Parkgate, run by coffee-loving and self-confessed foodies Emma and Adam Mitchell on the historic Parade in Parkgate, was one of only six establishments shortlisted in the design of the year category of the Cafe Life Awards 2016 and the only one from the north west.
At an awards ceremony in London hosted by top chef Theo Randall the business gained gold for recognition by experts in the field and platinum for the best designed coffee shop in the UK.
The success followed on from the original Elephant Neston on the market town’s high street which carried off the gold award for the best independent cafe/coffee bar in the country in the same awards, then known as the Cafe Society Awards, in 2013.
Award organisers said the design award ‘is aimed at those who are responsible for developing new concepts in the high street. The judges will be looking for designs that are innovative but commercially viable, providing an attractive and comfortable experience for the consumer’.
The business occupies the ground floor of a three-storey property in the Parkgate conservation area.
Emma and Adam, an unlikely combination of an honours graduate in Spanish and a building services engineer, described the atmosphere of their groundbreaking Neston outlet as ‘a key part of Elephant Coffee’.
They added: “We love the ‘theatre’ involved in making espresso-based drinks, the sounds of a traditional espresso machine, the aroma of the coffee, the hustle and bustle of the morning rush and the sweet smell of freshly baked pastries.”
Encouraged by the success of their first venture, they took their winning formula to the former Parkgate Coffee Shop in Hamilton House, offering a wine bar experience alongside the coffee and light bites menu that had proved such a hit on the high street.
Ahead of the judges’ decision, Emma said: “When designing Elephant Parkgate we wanted to bring something to the area that people have never seen before. We always wanted to merge two separate business concepts together.
“The aspects of both a coffee shop and bar always looked perfect for this merge.
“Because of this idea the design for Elephant Parkgate got a lot more difficult with having to fit in equipment and floor space for a coffee shop and bar in a way that didn’t take away from the character of The Parade.”
She explained: “However after months of hard work, planning and pretty much knocking the old building down and starting over, we felt we were truly there with our crazy concept.
“There have been one or two people along the way who didn’t quite understand our interior design with questions such as ‘when are you finishing the roof?’ or ‘are the lampshades in the post?’ but we feel all together that although it is a fairly new and ‘out there’ design, people have really embraced it with open arms and love it as much as we do.
“The Café Life Awards are one of the most recognised awards in our industry which makes it even more flattering that they have thought Elephant Parkgate’s design to be in the top six in the entire UK.
“Either way we are thrilled to get this far.”
With their dream fulfilled, she added: “We are over the moon for our design to be recognised as the best in the UK!
“Design and concept has always been the forefront of our mission at Elephant, giving people a completely unique experience in beautiful spaces to cultivate our amazing community.”
Carrie Spacey, chairman of Neston & District Chamber of Trade, said: “Huge congratulations to Elephant for this amazing award. To be judged the best for design in the entire country is outstanding and once again draws national attention to our little corner of the UK.
“We are so proud of everything the Elephant team have achieved in bringing disused buildings back to life, introducing a café culture to the area and soon, to open a brand new restaurant at the Bank in the heart of Neston town centre.
“They richly deserve this award.”
Recently Elephant Parkgate was chosen by Boughton’s Coffee House magazine, said to be the leading magazine in the business, for inclusion in a list of the top 21 coffee houses in the UK.
For their 100th edition they put together an expert panel to select those which deserved recognition for outstanding achievements.
Emma and Adam were commended for their espressos, made from a unique coffee bean blend with a hint of cinnamon and spice and their specially created cocktails, beers and wine from around the world.
Next up in the chain is the conversion of the former NatWest Bank in Neston, which is to become the Elephant Bank Pizzeria & Bar.
