From staff to co-owners of cafe and roastery

Chris Earles, Jonny Simpson, Laurence Pocock and Rosy Smith have gone from friends and colleagues to co-owners at their place of work.

In the heart of the historic city centre, they are now jointly at the helm of one of Bristol’s most forward-thinking hospitality businesses.

Full Court Press is a cafe and a roastery based across two buildings on Broad Street, and although it’s not strictly a cooperative – as the four new directors do not all have equal ownership – it’s near as dammit.

Full Court Press was opened by Mat North, who in 2019 sold 50 per cent of the business to Jonny, before selling his remaining share to Chris, Laurence and Rosy.

During lockdown, its roastery headed up by Chris opened just a few doors down from the cafe, helping to keep the business afloat.

Mat may be no longer at the tiller but he remains on the saddle, still cycling hundreds of miles each month while delivering Full Court Press’ coffee across Bristol.

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Listen to Jonny Simpson and Mat North on episode 20 of the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:

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“It was always the plan for the staff to take over,” Jonny told Bristol24/7 on a recent morning in the roastery next to Christ Church.

“Even though I technically own half of it, we are running it as equals. The decision-making is done by the four of us and the other three staff are also very much involved with that as well, and it would be nice if everyone could own it too.”

So what prompted Jonny to buy into the business in the first place?

“I just wanted to see FCP carry on and I saw its potential to grow. I knew that Mat had created something brilliant but also it could be taken so much further and Mat was very much open to doing that.”

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Laurence started working as a barista at Full Court Press as Mat’s replacement when he took up a full-time job with Raw Material,  a social enterprise that works with a growing network of smallholder coffee farmers across the world.

“It’s been a collaborative effort for a while,” Laurence said. “We all pitch in on little bits of jobs here and there. It’s always been an empowering business for the staff, with the responsibility always being quite high.

“I think because of the trust in the business, people are very willing to try their best to do the roles.”

Laurence added: “It’s an amazing business so what an opportunity to take it over. If ever there was an opportunity to learn how to run a business, it would be one that has existed for ten years with solid foundations. There’s infinite growth here.”

Main photo: Full Court Press

Read more:

• Bristol cafe’s brilliant response to one-star review
• Innovative micro-roastery hidden in plain sight
• Making it easier to find hospitality jobs in Bristol

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