A COFFEE shop nestled in the town centre was opened after a couple searched for a venue to help settle in their adopted son.
The Old George coffee shop, based in the old Pollyanna building on Market Hill, has been nominated for a Proud of Barnsley start up award, but owners Gareth Derbyshire and Andrew McCulloch said they had humble beginnings.
Gareth, 38 was trained as a clinical educator for the NHS, but gave up his job after they adopted a son.
He said: “It was really hard and I ended up having two years’ adoptive leave because I needed to be there to help and support him. I needed to do family things with him to make him feel safe.
“Obviously it’s socially unacceptable to go to the pub with a child so we opted for coffee shops.
“We really struggled to find a cafe that we enjoyed and offered what we like, so we found ourselves wandering to Leeds and Sheffield more and more.
“It got us thinking that there had to be more people in Barnsley who want what we want.”
The couple opened up the Old George in February last year, and said that it has already exceeded their expectations.
Gareth said: “We never expected it to be as popular as it is. We thought we would sell five sandwiches a day and run it ourselves, but in actual fact we sell more than 120.
“We sell around 300 coffees a day and we employ 12 members of staff.
“Our son is eight-years-old now and he’s calmed down a lot, but it’s nice that I have a job that is mentally stimulating but also gives me the freedom to be with him before and after school which he needs.”
The pair have said that the nomination for the award came as a shock.
He said: “It was really humbling, it feels as though the hard work is paying off. I think it’s really great that we have been nominated and shortlisted.”
