Visitors to Keswick will be able to sample a unique brand of coffee and donuts, thanks to the hard work of two entrepreneurs.

Bruce Brown and Luke Jackson have opened a new base for their coffee and donuts on Main Street, Keswick after humble beginnings from a back street coffee shop in Carlisle, where Luke said the initial aim was to pay the rent and brew good coffee.

Thanks to a lot of work, resilience and the support of their customers, Bruce and Luke's has expanded its outlets from Foxes Cafe in Carlisle to three more bases in the city, as well as Gretna Gateway and now it's own dedicated shop in Keswick.

Luke said: “We feel really lucky. We’ve worked hard but the lucky part is that customers get what we’re trying to achieve.”

Speaking about the opening of the new store in Allerdale, he said: “It’s exciting. Growing up in Carlisle you get to know the Lakes and what it’s like. We started in a back street coffee shop in Carlisle.”

But he said: “The more you do, the more you grow.”

The Keswick store is in prime position to benefit from the relaxed restrictions.

The easing of the third coronavirus lockdown on March 29 allowed the public to meet someone from another household for a socially-distanced walk and a coffee on a park bench. Bruce and Luke’s, which offers takeaway on their products, has capitalised on the reopening of society.

Luke said: “We’ve definitely fallen into a lucky aspect of the hospitality sector. We planned our whole business going forward to be takeaway, not even knowing that Covid-19 would be a thing.”

If the entrepreneurs get their way, more sites selling their brand of coffee and bakes treats will be popping up around Cumbria and further afield.

Speaking of opening more bases, Luke said: "Hopefully two or three more this year. Our out-and-out goal by 2029 is to have 100 outlets.”

He added that the outlets would be a mix of either counters in other stores or brick and mortar shops. Their brewed and baked treats are made with a scoop of positivity and Luke said that the team were grateful that the public were buying in to that ethos.

“We have our ups and downs like any business. It’s just about being a little bit stoic,” he said.

For more information about Bruce and Luke’s visit www.bruceandlukes.com

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