A cafe/florist combining breakfasts and bouquets has become the latest addition to Heaton’s growing list of independent businesses.
Fork in the Rose, which opened its doors on Heaton Road this week, is the brainchild of trained florist Gemma Pringle and chef Daniel Bennett.
The couple have spent around four years searching for the perfect place to combine their talents.
“Everyone loves the smell of the flowers, then you add coffee into the mix - that’s where we got the idea from,” Gemma said.
“I’ve worked in hospitality, front of house, for years but I’m also a trained florist, so we’ve been talking about it for quite a few years now but it was just about finding the right time and place.
“We love Heaton, we always have. I was drawn to it because it’s got a nice community, so it’s the perfect spot for us.”
Dan is a former chef at Heaton Road neighbour Boquerones Tapas, and other local businesses will play a big part in the cafe, with meat coming from Block and Bottle, and coffee from the Ouseburn Coffee Company.
Fork in the Rose has already opened its doors as a florist, selling plants, flowers and wildflowers, with a bouquet delivery service running throughout Newcastle.
On Wednesday it will start serving coffee and other drinks, and the kitchen will open shortly after.
“We’re going to have fantastic breakfasts and lunches, and we’ll be selling freshly baked pastries and cakes,” Gemma said.
“We’ve designed it with social distancing in mind, so at the minute it seats 24 and we have three tables outside as well.
“Dan will run the kitchen, I’m the florist, and we have a barista who I’ve worked with for a few years.
“So it’s the three of us right now and hopefully we’ll grow it from there and add some more people to the team.
Gemma added: “It’s a strange time to be opening a business but we’ve kept it in the back of our minds all the time.
“We’ll have hand sanitiser, there’s a one way system in place, and a code for the NHS app.
“We can do deliveries if we do have to go into lockdown, but at the minute people do want to go out, it seems.
“The people who have been in here have loved it, they keep saying it’s very fresh and modern.”
