It’s sunny with a chance of sprinkles! Today we chat to Martin, owner of Culaccino.

What was your background before opening Culaccino?

“Well I started off as an apprentice with BT, and stayed with them for 38 years. I decided to take my pension. After some time out of work, and teaching myself web design I decided it was time for a new chapter.”

What inspired you to open?

“I’ve always loved coffee shops, but as that’s one thing Daventry isn’t short of, I knew we needed a good USP. One day I was with my daughter in a lovely ice cream parlour in Northampton, and I thought that ice cream in combination with a Café would be a great fit for Daventry.”

How has Covid affected your business.

“Initially, of course, we had to close, but we already had plans in place to do deliveries. We hadn’t started delivering at that point, but Covid really gave us a kick to get things moving in that respect. Since then, deliveries have been a great addition, and have been really successful for us.”

What do you do in your spare time?

“Well my answer to that would be ‘what spare time?’ Between Culaccino and having seven grandchildren I hardly have a moment to spare. And more than one grandchild has had a shift helping me out in here!”

Tell us a funny anecdote about your life before opening Culaccino

“While working abroad for British Telecom in Romania in 2010, I was training the local workforce in increasing efficiency. I suppose the interesting thing was that because only half of them spoke English, every time I would make a joke half of the class would laugh, and then the rest would look to the interpreter to wait for the joke to be translated to join in with the laugh! It was quite a bizarre situation, but I had a very good time working there.”

For 25% off any hot drink, please show this page and say the phrase “off the beaten track” when ordering at Culaccino.

(Offer available for the first 100 customer, ends on Friday 4th February)