We have some new neighbours at Spa Terminus.
Spa Terminus is where our roastery and offices are based. It consists of four sections of railway arches: Voyager, Spa, Discovery, Apollo and an annex, Dockley. We moved to this site along with our oldest, bestest, friends Neal’s Yard Dairy in 2018 but planning for this site started long before that. Since both companies started in the Neal’s Yard area in the 1970s the businesses have looked for a larger spot to call home that has the kind of space and layout conducive to a food production business – somewhere we could spread out a bit and get comfy. Our respective sites in Borough Market were our first foray into larger space but as the retail market was successful beyond anyone’s imaginations, we both continued to look for somewhere else to roast coffee, and mature cheese.
We found that space, for a time, along Druid Street and Maltby Street in Bermondsey. And for about ten years we were pretty much all set. But by and by we needed some more space, and we also wanted to help other food businesses in the area that were having the same space and rent problems as us. So, in 2015 we (Monmouth Coffee and Neal’s Yard Dairy) joined forces with James from property development company Matching Green and took on the lease for the group of arches known as Spa Terminus.
We were joined by a clutch of food companies that liked what we were trying to do, and this has formed the basis of a great community of people focussed on high quality food. Kappacasein, The Kernel Brewery, The Ham and Cheese Company, The Little Bread Pedlar, and England Preserves, all moved into the area in those early few months and Spa Terminus as a food production neighbourhood was established. Bermondsey has a strong history of food businesses, from the original spice warehouses in Shad Thames, to the biscuit factory, an old vinegar distillation, and the rest of them. There were associated businesses too, our old site in Maltby street used to make biscuit tins!
Onwards a few years now and we have more butchers, bakers and literally candle makers in the Spa Terminus arches. It’s a terrific spot to be, and during the Covid times it was encouraging to have the support of similar businesses right next door to talk through the challenges all the companies were facing. It is a collaborative and inspiring place to be.
Over the last year the Dockley section of the estate has sprung up and is starting to get populated. Gimlet Drinks has arrived with cordials, vinegars and cider, and the Little Bread Pedlar has set up a bakery and cafe that is open throughout the week. Natoora have also opened their new site on Fridays and Saturdays for fresh produce. Please see spa-terminus.co.uk for a full list – and check with each company for their opening hours and contact details.
The companies here work primarily as appointment-only production sites but most of us open our doors on Saturday mornings for retail customers. Our own roastery is open on the Discovery South side, and Neal’s Yard Dairy are open around the corner and through the tunnel in Apollo North (each area has a north and south, the railway line acts as the equator). We’ve both managed to spread out and fill our respective spaces and it really is wonderful to have the room to do that!
Enjoy the sun!
Monmouth x
