A new café concept in Wales has secured three sites and is eyeing more across the border, M&C has learned.
Kin&Ilk was started by businessman David Davies, graphic designer Alex Jenkins and designer Angela Gidden, and opened its first site, in Cardiff’s Capital Quarter, earlier this month.
Construction had almost completed at a second site at the Welsh Government owned GloWorks site in Cardiff Bay and a fit out had begun on a third site in Pontcanna, Cardiff.
The food offer is rustic Welsh with a range of vegan and gluten free options, Davies said.
The sites will be open from 7am to 7pm and evenings will have an emphasis on tapas-style sharing boards, Welsh breads, cheese boards, charcuterie and wine and craft beer and ciders, he said.
Davies said he began working on the concept in March 2013.
“The whole concept came about because we wanted to start a branding agency, then we decided we’d have a branding agency with a coffee shop and then we thought ‘sod the branding agency, we’ll just do the coffee shop’.
“Well actually we’ve opened the branding agency as well now – Delicious Branding.”
The three sites would be run as separate companies by holding company Two Fat Men Ltd – 90% owned by Davies and three other shareholders, and 10% invested in an employee share benefit scheme.
“We wanted to create spaces where people could come and work in – we want them to be creative spaces, we want to do regular talks, we’ve already got three or four people now who want to hold events here,” he said.
“Each site is the same but different, it’ll have the same DNA, but a different appeal.”
Davies said he was hoping to open a fourth café in Wales and was eyeing sites across the border in England.
“By the end of this year we’d like to have four or five sites and by the end of next year eight, nine or 10 sites.”
Davies said he had been eyeing Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham and Gloucester for future Kin&Ilk sites.
He previously worked as a lawyer and then as a businessman in the international packaging industry.
Jenkins worked as a graphic designer whose portfolio includes album covers for The Prodigy and branding for BBC and O2.
The launch with financed with assistance from Finance Wales who provided a £150,000 loan, Davies said.
