Following the success of Shop Cuvée in Highbury, north London, Brodie Meah and Max Venning will open a second site in Bethnal Green in August.
The pair founded Shop Cuvée last summer when their respective hospitality businesses had to close due to lockdown.
The Bethnal Green store will have provision for a wine bar and events space in the basement, while the ground floor will be dedicated to retail.
Meah says: “We never assumed retail would be our main focus but we never forget our roots in hospitality. Wine and food just go hand in hand.”
“We already distribute all over the UK,” adds Meah, “but what this shop really means for us is that we can take ownership of that delivery a bit more. We are very keen on using our own bicycle couriers; they are freelance workers but very much part of our team. At the moment we have a 6km radius around the Highbury store, and Bethnal Green means we can extend our bicycle courier radius.
“That service is really important to us because the delivery is door to door, in our own hands, rather than handing it off to a courier.”
He adds: “We’re not eco-warriors but I think any good business these days has an eye on its environmental impact, so we see it as a bit of a no-brainer really, especially in London. I do some bike deliveries sometimes and I’m surprised that it’s not more popular.”
Meah says that the business has the capacity to start importing direct, but would rather wait until the current Brexit/Covid/transport storms blow over. “We are super busy focusing on our retail, so I think it’s sensible to hold off on importing for now,” he adds.
