As Wayland’s Yard recently celebrated their second birthday, Rachel caught up with founder, Sam Smith. Read the interview below
RR: In 3 words, sum up Wayland’s Yard
SS: We do Proper.
RR: What is the background to Wayland’s Yard? What is the Wayland’s Yard story?
SS: I used to play professional rugby for Harlequins and then Worcester Warriors. I had to retire through injury in 2016, but had already begun looking into opening Wayland’s Yard in Worcester, the city that I had fallen in love living in. I wanted somewhere that served Proper Coffee. Proper Food. By Proper People. We support local suppliers and love being a community hub for anyone to come and do their thing in. We have now opened a second shop in Birmingham (March 2018) and recently a really exciting collaboration store in a railway arch in Worcester with our coffee Roasters, Method. We have a really tight relation with Method and to now have them roasting their coffee in the arch whilst we both run a beautiful coffee shop out of the front is really exciting and to me is what Wayland’s is all about – working together and constantly striving to provide our customers with the best coffee experience that we can!
RR: What is special about Wayland’s Yard coffee and menu?
SS: We uses speciality grade, seasonal coffee, roasted by the experts at Method Coffee Roasters. We then use the best machinery available and highly skilled, passionate baristas to produce cups of coffee that we are proud to serve and hope bring a little bit of joy with each sip! Lets also not forget our milk – we haven’t ever worked with milk that steams and textures so well, it is the perfect companion to our coffee. Thank you Mawley ☺
With our food we again, use locally sourced produce and love working closely with our small, local businesses. We keep things fresh, changing our menus with the seasons and always trying to put our own twist on each dish we serve.
RR: What is your best seller and why?
SS: Our best seller is our Eggy Crumpets. We added these to the specials menu last Christmas and within a week they were our best seller and they’ve remained at the top ever since! We dip crumpets in our secret herb egg mix, top them with grilled halloumi and lay them on a base of our homemade smoked chilli jam. Simple yet delicious. I Love to add pan friend chorizo.
RR: With everything you have achieved so far in the business, what are you most proud of and why?
SS: I am most proud of the community of staff and customers that we have created. Wayland’s truly is a place that the whole community can come and enjoy. We have a really tight knit group of staff who are dedicated and passionate about what we are trying to achieve at Wayland’s and I hope that this shines through to our customers in the experience that receive every time they step into our shop.
RR: How are you looking to grow the business in the next 12 months?
SS: We have recently been through a serious period of growth opening shops 2 and 3 within 4 months. I want us to now really focus on maintaining the standards that we have set and continue to improve and grow as business to consistently supply our customers with an amazing experience.
Thanks to Sam for taking part in my interview! Go and check out Wayland’s Yard for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.
Waylands Yard can be found at 6 Foregate Street, Worcester, and 42 Bull Street, Birmingham.
Follow on social media @waylandsyard
Website www.waylandsyard.com, email hi@waylandsyard.com
