Couple to open their dream cafe and bookshop

A couple who met while working together on a Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory production are writing a new chapter with the opening of a cafe and bookshop.

Hidden Corner is being opened in a former cafe that Aaron Onuora and Sophia Khan used to be regulars at, and they admit that taking on the unit themselves started as a “whim”.

But that decision could soon be vindicated as the pair prepare to open the doors to a business that will be a cafe and bookshop by day, and a bar and events space by night.

Aaron, 32, is an actor in film and television known professionally as Aaron Anthony. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he is now a trustee.

Sophia, 33, works in costume, hair and makeup, and also runs hair and makeup workshops for Afro hair and darker skin.

They live in St Paul’s, with Hidden Corner opening in what used to be Milk Teeth which has an address of Portland Square but a front door on Bishop Street.

The food cooked by Sophia – who has a background in professional catering, including being a chef for touring bands – will be inspired by her south Asian and Greek background, and Aaron’s Nigerian heritage.

“We want to bring those flavours into our food,” she says. “We’ll be fusing everything!”

All the meat will be halal but the menu will lean towards vegan and vegetarian options, with supper clubs able to be hosted by Sophia and guest chefs.

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“I’ve always wanted to have a business,” admits Aaron. “Something creative in order to have another outlet. So when this space became available – and I think lockdown did this to a lot of people – it felt like now or never.”

Triple Co, a roastery founded on Stokes Croft and now based in Montpelier, will be providing the coffee at Hidden Corner, with a bar known as Saa’s Bar run by Saara Benfield, focusing on sustainability and specialising in cider.

Customers will be able to have a cup of coffee and bite to eat while surrounded by hundreds of books, including fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, mostly by people of colour (POC) and queer authors.

“As a queer person of colour, it’s often difficult to go into bookshops and ask certain questions,” says Sophia.

Aaron adds: “Mainly out of necessity, we can’t stock a whole shop full of new books. But the new books that we have chosen are predominantly by POC and queer writers.

“In theatre and in TV, I think we’ve seen a lack of other stories. It’s about representation and I think that a lot more have been adapted for screen now.

“Our long-term goal is to have our own production company but first off we want to surround ourselves with writing that we’d like to see, and that we obviously like to read as well.”

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: ‘It feels great to be in a space that is exactly what I wanted it to be’