Lindfield Coffee Works has been a staple part of village life for ten years now. Owner and founder, Kris Whelan, tells us about coffee roasting, café culture, Covid and cultivating a great team. From a one-man roastery to a multi-site local business, we find out the passion behind the product. It’s easy to forget that Kris didn’t start Lindfield Coffee Works (LCW) from a hospitality background. Something which, I suspect, may have given him a fresh, unblinkered viewpoint about what was to come. “I was working in sales for a spirits company,” Kris explained. “So, I had plenty of experience of my customers running bars and hotels, and that world certainly included coffee – which I was personally interested in.”
It actually started when Kris was looking for a site in Lindfield – where he lived – for the sort of London-style coffee bars, which he reckoned the village was ‘crying out for’. He had some money left over from a previous job redundancy payout and thought he could start something himself. While waiting for the perfect location, he spotted World Coffees coming up for sale. “When I bought that business, I was told I could only have one year in the existing building (off Denmans Lane), so I knew I had to find a new location. That suited me, as a chance conversation whilst walking the dog about a year beforehand introduced me to Mark White – who had a site he thought could work for my coffee bar idea.” Amazingly, the Alma Road site was developed and built to Kris’ specification, and in the timeframe he needed.
“My plan was always to change the model, moving it away from solely coffee roasting and trade sales,” Kris told me. “I loved the theatre of coffee roasting, and the new site gave us space to show us doing that, but also, people could sit down and taste it too.” This new coffee environment for Lindfield gave customers that much-needed experience; it was a bit different and Kris felt like they could also educate on the many interesting stories of coffee production while they enjoyed their flat white. Whilst the setup got great feedback, operationally it became a challenge for Kris and his expanding team, trying to effectively run two different businesses with quite different needs. “Dragging huge sacks of coffee beans in through the front doors and trying to avoid dogs and pushchairs became quite hazardous!”
The phrase ‘make hay while the sun shines’ is rarely truer than for coffee shops during Covid. At a time when most of us craved some kind of normality - a coffee on the Common with a friend became some people’s norm, and a way of getting through it. Initially the shop was closed, and Kris would roast, pack and deliver coffee on his own, while the staff were furloughed. “We launched our online delivery business during Covid and that soon took off, as people all bought proper coffee machines! But, as things opened up, we needed more space in the café, and a larger roaster to keep up with increased demand.”
In 2022, Kris rented a unit up the road at Sheffield Park and moved the roasting business out of Alma Road. Giving more space for tables inside. “In some ways, it felt like we lost our heart when the roastery moved, but it was definitely the right thing to do.” After a year or so, the roastery moved again to a bigger – and more importantly, closer – building in Scaynes Hill. “We were increasingly being asked by our trade customers if we could deliver barista training to their teams. Doing this in situ in a café can be tricky, so this purpose-built facility, bolted onto our coffee production area works really well for us.”
This was a busy time for Kris and the team, as he also opened a second shop on the High Street, when the opportunity arose. “I had always wanted that location,” Kris explained, “with its prime position. But in 2023, the time became right.” Branded as The Black Duck (a nod to the LCW coffee packaging artwork at the time), he was trying to do something different with that site. “Where Alma Road is more bespoke from the kitchen, The Black Duck was going to be something more like fast food, and with a different, more fun interior to LCW.” The speciality sandwich idea came after experiencing ‘the most amazing subs’ while on holiday in Miami. It changed name earlier this year to Duck’s Hot Subs, and now proudly serves great subs, gelato and – of course – coffee.
Come 2025, this brand expanded into Haywards Heath, where Kris took a shop on Park Parade, opposite Victoria Park. “I talked to the team, and we decided to go for it, to create a second Duck’s Hot Subs. Whilst this was exciting, it’s also very costly to do the fit-out, branding, promotion and most importantly, the staffing of a new site. I am very happy with how it looks, and we have created a brilliant sandwich shop in Haywards Heath – our customers seem to love it.”
As the sole director of the business, Kris reflects on how business decision-making has changed for him. “Looking back now, I think my naivety enabled me to make braver choices. I didn’t think twice about a tenyear lease on Alma Road, but when we set up the shop on South Road – I definitely gave it more thought. The old adage is true, that you don’t know what you don’t know – and in the early days, I made big decisions quickly in order to just make it happen.”
Nowadays, Kris finds himself not only bouncing ideas off friends and loved ones, but he places great value on his own team’s experience and ideas. “I’m extremely grateful to have such a brilliant team. When I work with people, I really try and support their own ideas, while also developing their own skills. Not only is it good for them, but we also benefit as a business. “One of the things that drives me is looking for opportunities for our talented people. As the business grows, the number of opportunities increases.”
This ties in with a new project that Kris has undertaken in partnership with The Job Centre in Haywards Heath. LCW are sent six job seekers who are on Universal Credit, to go on a training course at its Scaynes Hill site. After a week, they are qualified and more likely to get accepted into a hospitality role. “I love the idea – it feels quite circular. We have trade customers looking for staff. We can train people looking for work to a high professional standard. When someone gets hired, they get a brilliant candidate, who comes off benefits and everyone wins.”
So, what’s next for Lindfield Coffee Works? “Consolidation!” Kris says, with a wry smile. “We have grown a lot in the last few years, but we know businesses like ours have to work hard to get customers through the door. One of our priorities is to look after our amazing people, alongside our mission statement to ‘make someone’s day better’. It’s what I want to do every day, and I want our team to have the freedom to do that.” There are also changes afoot in Alma Road. The constantly evolving concept of our café interior will create some changes. “I want to get back to some different height elements, bring in new tables, and sort out the customer flow,” Kris explains. “After ten years, there are so many touch points that could be improved, so we are going to address many of those, and make this the best coffee experience venue in the area.” Lindfield Coffee Works is open seven days a week on Alma Road, and Duck’s Hot Subs at 43 High Street. Pop in, and you can follow both businesses on social media.