North Belfast’s newest coffee shop has opened up in what was once a disused hole-in-the-wall.
Named after what was there before, ATM Coffee opened on July 21 beside Belfast Back Care & Physiotherapy Centre on the Antrim Road.
Cafe owner,Campbell Morris lives locally and stumbled across the location when he had been visiting the physio centre to receive treatment for an injury.
After asking about plans for the empty space, he enquired as to whether he could set up a coffee hatchin it and the rest is history.
It was spurred on by the trend of more people enjoying coffee during lockdown, at a time when walking and enjoying a hot drink were all many of us could do to catch up with each other from a distance.
The hatch comes in at a neat six square metres, with a small outdoor seating area attached to the side for customers to take a break and enjoy a chat.
Chantelle Hawthorne, who helps with the day-to-day running of ATM Coffee, told Belfast Live about how their first week has been and spoke of plans for the future.
The coffee hatch measures just six square metres
(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
She said: “Campbell lives just down the lane, as he’s local he knows a lot of the community and what they’re after. This used to be a newsagents called Guys, so they retired then the building was taken over and turned into a physiotherapy place. So he was looking around and saw this area wasn’t being used, so wondered what he could do with it, then came up with this idea.
“He just wanted to make the most of this small space and always wanted his own coffee hut – so he just made it happen.”
There’s a lot of history behind the spot where the physiotherapy centre and ATM Coffee stands.
Still known by many in the area as Guys, after the newsagents of the same name that was formerly housed there, Chantelle says the history helps them in sparking up conversations with customers.
“It’s really good to have that history,” she added.
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“When Guys was here, this was their house, and a customer was in the other day who said they remembered going into the shop when Mrs Guy was sitting on her sofa, and they went in to buy a wee bag of sweets and that’s how it all started.”
Despite only being open for a week, the coffee shop is getting busier by the day as passers-by spot them, whether they’re walking down the road, driving, or cycling.
Chantelle Hawthorne, right, and Aoibhin Gormley in ATM Coffee’s seating area
(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
She added: “It’s handy as we have the post box just in front of the hatch, so if people are calling down to post something they’ll ask for a coffee. We would have a lot of people going by, running or exercising.
“We actually had a guy the other day stopped on his bike just to get an espresso, then he was off cycling again. You can stop by for a takeaway or you can just chill out in our wee garden area, it suits a lot of people.”
Chantelle said the cafe “shows you what can happen with a bit of creative thinking” as it makes good use of the space available, utilising the small area of a former ATM for coffee and food preparation, and a small empty space beside the building as a seating area.
She continued: “The place is pretty small but we used every space we could to try and make it possible because we are hoping if here does well, we are going to extend out the back as there’s a bigger area.”
With more and more people discovering local beauty spots such as the nearby Cavehillduring lockdown, it means there are more people needing refreshments, too.
ATM Coffee, Antrim Road, Belfast.
(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
“We get loads of people coming down from Belfast Castle,” Chantelle added. “We get a lot of mountain bikers and people jogging, walking their dogs. We’re a very dog-friendly spot as well.
“I can’t believe how well we’re doing. The first couple of days, nobody really knew we were here and then with the bad weather we were worried nobody would call down but we’re actually busier whenever it’s raining.
“Especially with covid, we’re hearing a lot of people saying everything’s gone bust, everything’s closing down, so it’s quite nice to have a positive story of something opening and doing well.
“It’s nice having people walking past and getting to know them, and the people on the Antrim Roadare so friendly and so helpful. We’ve been made very welcome.”
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