HOME is a family-run, independent café bar situated on Beverley Road. The building was once an ironmongers and later antique shop which has now been transformed into a beautiful, relaxed café. It is close to the hustle and bustle of Newland Avenue and Princes Avenue, but far enough to feel away from it all and enjoy that little bit of quietness and harmony.
As you enter HOME you are greeted with peaceful but upbeat music coming from the record player, the aroma of delicious food, and a friendly smile. The café bar is a cosy size with various pieces of art for sale displayed along the wall, including handmade jewellery. The café has a real sense of uniqueness to it, with a bookcase full of board games, cookbooks, and bottles of wine. It is like being in someone’s house, as you do feel comfortable enough in there to just pick up a book and start reading or even grab a board game and have a quick round while having a drink and some food. This is how they want their customers to feel, as it is a home-from-home.
HOME offers a variety of food, from breakfast and blending room coffee to evening meals with a glass of wine. They also offer different events, as well as live music every Thursday night with food from 5 pm, live music from 8 pm, and drinks available throughout the evening. They also serve Sunday dinner 1 pm-5 pm with gluten-free, veggie, and vegan options available.
Ellie is the manager of HOME and is a key part of the smooth running of the café, I managed to sit down and talk to her, and she told us some of the best things about being independent:
“The best thing about being independent is the customers, building relationships with the customers, and supporting other local independents in the area, HU5 especially. If we have a day where we are full, we will tell them to get down to Marla’s, get down to Zoo, and then they do the same for us.”
Being an independent business can be hard at times, especially with the cost of living rising and recovering from the previous year’s lockdowns, Ellie tells us why you should support local:
“I think it’s so important to support local because it really is a community of people and working for a small local business is great, obviously this is family run so it’s a little bit different because we all just work here as a family sort of thing, but I know people don’t want to work for big corporate companies anymore, they don’t want to work for “the man” and just be a number, it’s nice to work somewhere that actually cares about you.”
Having an independent business does come with its difficulties, Ellie goes on to tell us about some of the challenges along the way:
“Obviously we were closed for two years, that was difficult, we did takeaways and now the next problem is the energy bills, I know that it is a big problem for all the local businesses but it has just gone up an unbelievable amount, I think that’s going to be difficult for a lot of businesses, especially in Hull.”
For anyone else wanting to start their own independent business, you must be patient and be prepared to work for it:
“I would say, it is rewarding but unless you absolutely love it… do not do it. Just because it can be a lot of hard work, there are loads and loads of bad points that come with it however it is great as well. It is great to have the freedom to do what you want to do.”
Visit Home at 321 Beverley Road, Hull, HU5 1LD.
Open Thursday-Sunday.
Instagram: @home.hull
