New Sheffield café-bar Cats to open after major nine-month transformation bringing Catalonia to Broomhill
“A café-bar you’d find in a square in Europe, just dropped onto Glossop Road instead”
A new Catalonian-inspired café-bar is due to open in Sheffield this week (August 6) after its owners spent nine months transforming a former takeaway.
The name Cats is a play on Catalonia, with the venue also featuring ‘nods to cats’ throughout.
The idea was shaped by the founders’ family connections to southern France, Barcelona and the Catalan region.
The café-bar has been created by Sheffield founders Sam Swire, Tom Walker, Nicky Swire and Jenny Swire, who have spent months renovating the long-empty former Nibbles Pizza unit.
The team stripped back the building and carried out major work after dealing with flooding, structural issues and a lack of electricity during the renovation.
Co-founder Sam Swire said: “We’ve spent months stripping tiles and plaster, dealing with flooding and a lack of electricity, and it’s finally starting to feel like the building can breathe again.
“It was the much-loved Nibbles Pizza but had sat empty for years.
“What we’re putting in its place is closer to a café-bar you’d find in a square in Europe, just dropped onto Glossop Road instead.”
Its coffee will be made using beans from Sheffield roaster Cuppers Choice.
The venue’s interior has been designed with a stripped-back feel, featuring unfinished plaster walls, reclaimed flooring, exposed brick and a concrete bar.
Cats will be open Wednesday to Sunday, from 8am until 11pm.