'It’s the people that make it' – We visit The Steelyard Coffee House & Kitchen to talk community and coffee
I’ve recently been reacquainting myself with parts of the city that have changed since I moved away four years ago, and in this moment of rediscovering what was once familiar I took a walk through Kelham Island and Neepsend. There I found this hidden gem of called The Steelyard Coffee House & Kitchen
It has been described as ‘Sheffield’s Hottest Neighbourhood’ and was even called ‘one of the Best Places to Live in the UK’ by the Sunday Times– high praise indeed.
Kelham Island and Neepsend have changed hugely over the last two decades and during my childhood it was an area that was pretty run-down and in many parts seemingly confined to the history books as one of the forgotten memories of the Industrial Revolution.
How it has changed over the past 10 to 15-years. In many ways for the better and in some ways that could do with some tweaks to elevate it further.
My first port of call was a place called Steelyard Kelham, described as a “vibrant, and unique retail hub built from shipping containers”.
It really is quite an interesting place. Situated on Bardwell Rd, it’s just down the road from where the infamous Ski Village used to operate.
In this hub, I paid a visit to a newly-opened business called The Steelyard Coffee House + Kitchen. As you enter the courtyard, it’s just on your left… you can’t miss the giant logo in the window.
The A-board outside declares that, “My love language is coffee”. Good start, I love coffee too.
Opening the door into the venue, your eyes take in the rustic vibes. A brilliantly orange feature wall with plants on shelves, with green velvet benches along both walls. Dark green tiles adorn the serving and till area. It immediately sets a serene tone, a chilled out atmosphere and a camera-shy manager, who smiles as I approach.
In between serving customers, The Steelyard Coffee House + Kitchen owner, Sarah Stockwell, talks to me about this new venture, all while positively gushing over how much she loves the location.
“We’ve been here for the past seven weeks now, we offer a selection of brilliant coffees, sandwiches, cakes, pastries and iced drinks,” she said.
Despite it only being open a matter of weeks, it has begun to drum up quite a bit of trade with patrons coming in to order, a number of people enjoying a coffee and a sandwich, all set against the backdrop of Sheffield’s first boxpark.
With the location of Sheffield’s first boxpark being a little out of the way and seemingly rather quiet, I wondered if The Steelyard Coffee House + Kitchen had any plans to expand its reach outside of the 1,500 capacity location.
“At the moment we don’t cater for outside events. The Steelyard does a lot of events, and we will be opening for those events. But we don’t do any outside catering, just purely for the Steelyard,” Sarah said.
“For events, we will be putting together special menus. So all of the things that you’d want when you’re having a drink and at a festival, cheese and chips, loaded fries, burgers, that kind of stuff.”
“If people do want to book with us or pre-order then they can message us on Facebook at The Steelyard Coffee House & Kitchen.”
During my time there, it’s very apparent that despite being in such a separate space from other venues around the Kelham and Neepsend area there’s definitely a strong sense of community and supporting one another.
And that’s something Sarah agrees with. She said: “We do love it here, everyone is so friendly and supportive. There’s a good feel to it all. And we’re looking forward to adding even more things to our menu in the coming weeks as well.”
If you are passing by, I would recommend the coffee and the pastry selection, if that’s your thing. But for those cooler days the iced drinks are really refreshing too.
While I was there Sarah took the time to introduce me to the head chef and owner of Olive @ Medusa, Iken. I recently reviewed this Greek taverna and I had nothing but good things to say about my experience there.
First impressions of The Steelyard Coffee House + Kitchen are promising, it’s got good strong coffee.
I love the location, and just seeing how inventive places can get in terms of utilising shipping containers to such great effect it really is a novel means of enjoying a hot or cold drink during the morning, afternoon or even during one of the many events (and raves) that take place there.
I would recommend it. It is a bit of a hidden gem and the staff are really pleasant to boot.
The Steelyard Coffee House + Kitchen can be found at: Steelyard, Bardwell Rd, Sheffield S3 8AS
Follow them on social:
Search: The Steelyard Coffee House + Kitchen (on Facebook)
Email: [email protected]
This article is part of a series looking at independent business in Kelham Island and surrounding areas and speaking to the people who run them.