A lot can change in 12 months.
Sanctuary Coffee started 2024 in the heart of London and finished the year 330 miles South West in an 11th Century village on the Devonshire Coast.
The first permanent space featured a coffee cart located on the magnificent portico of the beautifully detailed St Marylebone Parish Church.
Constructed in 1817, the church features some of the most glamorous touches famed by the Regency Era. A grand and perfectly symmetrical staircase guides one to a standout entrance with a 25ft Royal Blue doorway; and for the first four months of the year, a coffee cart.
The tenancy at St Marylebone Parish Church was ended in April, just four months in, as urgent repair work to the Clock Tower became apparent.
In October 2024, Sanctuary Coffee featured as the sole coffee provider for Ted's Market - a start-up fresh foods market in Teddington, the area Marcus and Rhian lived at the time.
As Sanctuary had outgrown their space in Teddington, the quest for a new space became the top priority.
Out of curiosity, the decision to explore spaces outside of London was examined. With family top and tailing the M5, Devon felt like an interesting location to look to.
Visiting spaces in Exeter certainly piqued interest - however the up front expenditure made little sense.
In December 2024, Torbay Countryside Trust reached out and let us know of a property in Cockington Village that was becoming available for the first time in 35 years.
On Christmas Eve, a deal was agreed and Sanctuary Coffee's first bricks and mortar would begin works in February 2025.