VivaVlog

A new telephone box café has opened in Twickenham with the aim of supporting members of the community.

Liv’s Telecafé, a coffee kiosk operating out of a disused, Grade-II listed red phone box, has started serving customers from its premises on Twickenham Green.

Restaurant worker Livia set up the café after being made redundant from her job at a nearby hotel during the national lockdown.

The Hungarian-born business owner said: “I’ve always wanted to run my own business and it’s great to see the takeaway business start to grow.

“The customers have also been really nice and supportive.”

While the entrepreneur has a commercial goal of serving the highest quality coffee to her customers, she also has a social vision of employing young people whose jobs have been most impacted by the pandemic.

Livia will donate a portion of any profits made at the takeaway café to underprivileged youth in the area as well as providing individuals with special needs and ex-offenders with work.

She explained: “I’m in a good position in my life so I would like to help those who aren’t as best as I can.”

Inspiration behind this vision came from OneRichmond , a community-driven initiative which promotes collaboration between businesses and charities to meet the needs of young people in the area.

Livia’s business partner and co-owner of Liv’s Telecafé, Martin Duffy, has provided support with the lengthy planning application process as well as providing financial advice.

During the last week of trading, sales have jumped significantly, according to Martin, thanks to customers becoming increasingly aware of the kiosk’s existence.

Martin said: “Obviously it's very early days so we will have to see how things develop. We expect sales to have a seasonal dimension with sales in the summer probably a lot higher than in the winter, so the coming few months is likely to be challenging.”

The coffee served at Liv’s Telecafé is ethically sourced and hand roasted by the independent roasting business Scotties Coffee, also in Twickenham.

Livia personally serves customers her range of items including teas, other hot drinks and snacks and so far, she has received positive feedback from satisfied customers on a local Facebook group.

One user commented: “I had my coffee too, very nice and friendly service.”

In the coming months, Livia plans to expand the menu by adding fresh juices, smoothies and sandwiches to the current range.

Looking further ahead, the entrepreneur is excited to eventually provide jobs to those most in need in the community by rolling out more kiosks across London and eventually owning her own on-premises café.

“I realise that it will take time to gradually build up and that I will need to be persistent and patient,” Livia concluded.

To follow updates about Liv’s Telecafé, visit the Instagram account.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rsXLqKWdp55ju6bD0miuoZmkqHqwuo6fpqicXZm%2FqrrKZqWer6Nku6bDjK2cpZ2gnbyvsYybprFlk5azbq7EoKCnq11nfnqEkXFscQ%3D%3D