A new coffee shop will open in the offices of Lichfield District Council next week.
The owners of Melbourne on Bird Street will launch Penni Uni on Monday (27th June).
It will coincide with the decision to reopen the council offices to the public on the same date after being shut for almost three years due to the Covid pandemic.
Owner Deborah Pease said:
“When we began discussions with Lichfield District Council around the potential for opening a cafe site we were particularly taken with the enthusiasm of the team to support community programmes and deliver services above and beyond the traditional.
“After discussing their aspirations we determined that Penni Uni – based on Penny University from the original coffee houses – would be a great nod to the goal of supporting the community that councils ultimately are there to do.
“We will be gently opening on 27th June but bear with us as we get used to our new surroundings – we will be rapidly picking up speed in July and we look forward to welcoming a wide range of people to our new café.”
Deborah Pease
The new coffee shop will also serve other organisations that are set to move into Lichfield District Council House as part of plans to open up the site as an incubator hub for small local businesses.
Cllr Doug Pullen, leader of the local authority, said:
“We want our offices to become a real community hub and meeting place.
“I’m thrilled to say we have some new attractions and partner agencies who will be joining us and providing expanded services through our offices. I’d encourage people to pop in and take a look.
“We are delighted we have been able to work with the much-respected café and catering group Melbourne who will be opening Penni Uni, a vibrant café in the building offering food and drink all day to visitors and staff right on our doorstep.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council
Penni Uni café will open from 8am to 4pm weekdays.
Wow… another coffee shop. Amazing.
Can’t wait….. not.
Well at least I can grab a coffee whilst telling the councillors of my contempt for what they’ve done to Lichfield.
Coffee with the dinosaurs.
Bizarre idea for two reason really. Firstly, as someone has already pointed out – we have so many coffee shops in Lichfield already. Secondly, this one is a bit out of the way of the rest of the footfall of town. Anyone wanting a coffee here would have to walk passed at least 3 or 4 other coffee shops to get there….and all to have a coffee in the “council offices”?
Am I missing something?
It’s for the drones that “work” there. As for it being a new attraction there must be 20 other coffee shops at least.
Cllr Pullen gets his favourite coffee shop in his own council building. Tory favouritism at it again.
The coffee shop is very nice apparently so please don’t knock this positive project before you try it. The coffee shop walls are adorned with pictures of LDC’s successes over the last 5 years. There’s one of a closed swimming pool; everyone’s favourite – a canal with no water; a snap of the 2 urine soaked unisex toilet cubicles at the bus station; one of the Council leader taxi driving in Poland; one of the newly promoted previous leader standing alongside the rubble pile that used to be tempest ford and finally one of a pensioner struggling with what looks like a blue holdall overflowing with paper. All very tastefully done and I’m sure excellent coffee to boot.
Gosh, some folks should lighten up a bit. This is an independent local business opening a new venture to cater to the people that work in the council offices, visitors and new businesses – good luck to them.
So what if there are lots of coffee shops in Lichfield – presumably the demand is there – much better than a load of empty units. The make up of the city centre (and every other town and city) simply reflects people’s habits and at the moment that seems to be to go out to eat and drink (and buy things on the internet and in out of town retail parks).
@Saucy HP, thank you, I’m glad to see at least one positive comment about this!
What is everybody’s problem with coffee shops? I’m a frequent cafe user and will definitely be trying out this new one when I can, especially as it’s operated by the already excellent Melbourne team.
Let’s get another coffee shop open in the old cinema building, just to really rub it in! :)
@Peter Fox : fantastic post , you made me smile.
Looking forward to trying it out. The team behind Melbourne are fantastic so I’ve got very high hopes. Loving their ethos of having an inclusive place for all. Wishing them the best of luck ☕️
I wish them all the best but I noticed a latte is £3.20, which may well put some people off. It’s not somewhere people are likely to stumble across, so I hope there’s enough thirsty LDC staff to keep them in business.
I also spotted the Contact Coffee shop has seemingly closed. Maybe there’s just too many cafes, or maybe location is everything.