Wholesale Clients In The Spotlight - CAFE YAYA

Let’s meet another one of our wholesale customers, the ever so fun and fresh Cafe Yaya based in Canterbury at the Sun Street Feast food market. We will chat with Callum about how it all started, how the cafe customers enjoy their Lost Sheep Speciality Coffee and what you can expect when visiting them.

Let’s get to know Cafe Yaya!

What’s your story? How did Cafe Yaya begin?

Was unfulfilled in the comfortable office job and started looking to get into something more creative, and more vibrant and street food was the thing that got me most interested. I travelled to New Orleans a few years ago and fell in love with everything about it and as Cajun/Creole cuisine is underrepresented in the UK I wanted to bring that to more people. I decided to go travelling for a year before returning and setting up and spent more time in New Orleans and visiting coffee farms in South America.
Having got back to the UK at the end of last year my plans were scuppered by Covid until the opportunity arose to join Sun Street Feast providing a sweet offering with coffee so I tinkered with my plan from selling savoury New Orleans food to do sweet and serving New Orleans Beignets and locally roasted coffee which I have always had an interest in.
So although Covid has been a horrific thing that has devastated so many lives I am in the very privileged position that it led to an amazing opportunity and the opening of my business.

What made you choose Lost Sheep Coffee as your coffee provider?

First and foremost (and most importantly) the product is great, really tasty coffee. I also loved the fact that Lost Sheep try to be very environmentally conscious and have relationships with the farmer who produces some of the beans. It was also important to me to use a local supplier and have a relationship with that supplier, I’ve always felt that working with Lost Sheep is more of a collaboration rather than simply a supplier of goods.

What’s the most popular way your customers enjoy their Lost Sheep Coffee? Flat white/ espresso?

Well, opening up in the middle of a heat wave has meant Iced Lattes are without doubt the top seller! I suspect this may change when the good old British weather does its thing once more.

Other than the great coffee, why should people visit you?

Alongside our coffee we sell a unique product – New Orleans-style beignets are light and fluffy doughnuts doused in Icing sugar that aren’t available locally and are absolutely delicious! Also being part of Canterbury’s Sun Street Feast you have an indoor street food market which offers a great variety of cuisine alongside craft beer in a great atmosphere, what’s not to like?

If you weren’t doing the whole Cafe Yaya thing, what would you be doing?

I was planning on moving to London and getting more experience in the Street food industry and setting up the savoury New Orleans Street food concept. So basically the same thing but different.