Coffee Lab: New cafe set to replace Sheffield institution on famous city centre street

Lynne’s Pantry, on Surrey Street, opposite Sheffield Town Hall, was one of the city’s oldest cafes, having been established in 1978.

But it sadly closed following the Covid pandemic, and the unit has been sitting empty since then.

Now signs have gone up for a new cafe, called Coffee Lab, which is due to open at the site. The signs simply say ‘coming soon’.

Coffee Lab is a Greek chain which began life in 2009 and, according to its website, now has 170 branches across Greece, England, Germany, Egypt, Cyprus and Bulgaria, and is expanding to the USA.

It claims to have been the first street coffee chain that ‘fully implements the concept of third-wave coffee’ - a marketing term indicating a focus on high quality coffee, typically made using beans sourced from individual farms and roasted more lightly to develop their unique flavours.

Coffee Lab’s website describes how it sells exclusively single origin coffee varieties from Brazil, Guatemala, Kenya and Ethiopia, where sustainable cultivation and fair working conditions are supported.

No opening date has yet been announced for the new cafe. The Star has contacted Coffee Lab for more details.