What do you do when there’s no good coffee shop within walking distance of your home? Open one as a side hustle of course. That’s what Anna Potapova and Anton Potapov did when they launched Holy Grain & Brew in Tottenham Hale. At the end of October, the shop will mark its first year.
Inside, the space has a mix of modern and personal touches. Disco balls glint softly from the ceiling, catching the natural light that pours through tall windows. Shelves dressed with trailing vines and white flowers frame a free community library, and displays of coffee beans, pastries and ceramics sit neatly on wooden surfaces. There’s a grid of polaroid dog portraits, and a cluster of handwritten menu sheets on the wall by the till. Their paper edges and marker strokes give the room a human feel. There’s even a dedicated play area for kids. Alongside this, the counter adds another layer of warmth, stacked loaves, glossy brioche, crusty sourdough, brownies, cookies and cupcakes arranged on wooden boards and cake stands.
It’s in this atmosphere, bright, warm and expressive, that we sit down over coffee to talk about what it’s been like. We also get into how their corner café fits into the ever growing landscape of Tottenham.
Solving Their Own Problem
Anna and Anton moved to the area during the tail end of Covid and have lived across the road from the shop for five years. Back then, the area simply didn’t have anywhere to go. “We basically ended up without a place just to go on a Sunday, or to grab a coffee from,” Anna said. There was a Pret, and another place nearby that has since moved on, but nothing that actually worked as a regular spot.
The lack of options became the reason to open somewhere. While Anna and Anton were still finalising the lease and renovation, Anna put a QR code in the shop’s window and shared it in the local neighbours’ chat. It stayed there for months, and the response caught her off guard. “I think it was scanned like 500 times,” she said. The code linked to a newsletter sign-up, and at its peak around 300 people had subscribed just to find out when the place would open. “Everyone was looking for a place,” she said.
Where the Holy Grain Name Came From
The idea behind Holy Grain & Brew was there from the very beginning: a place with porridges and specialty coffee. “Grain” nods to both the coffee bean and the oats. The full brunch concept is still coming. Anna and Anton tested it themselves first, cooking at-home brunches over a few hours before deciding to fully establish the coffee side before adding breakfast into the mix.
Building the Relationships Before the Doors Even Opened
Long before opening, Anna and Anton were already deep in conversation with the suppliers who’d end up defining the shop. Square Mile, based on Blackhorse Road, came first through a coffee festival, though they already knew the name through James Hoffmann. Assembly followed, chosen partly because Anna was specifically looking for a sustainably-minded coffee partner. Most of the shop’s V60 offering runs through Assembly today, alongside their decaf for espresso.
The negotiation on the lease itself took close to a year, since a single company owns the whole development. During that stretch, the relationships with Square Mile and Assembly kept building anyway. One of Square Mile’s own managers ended up helping far beyond just supplying coffee, sourcing equipment too. That mattered, given a coffee machine alone runs upwards of £10,000. The family has funded everything at Holy Grain & Brew themselves, which is part of why some of the finishing touches have taken longer. Anna had sewn a curtain for the shop at five that same morning.
The Bread, Tea and Everything Else
The bread relationship has its own story. Anna and Anton were already regulars at Boulangerie Bon Matin in Finsbury Park, and simply emailed them cold. “Any chance?” Anna said, of the message. The bakery didn’t have a wholesale offering at the time, two years ago, and Holy Grain & Brew is likely their first wholesale client. Sitting down with the bakery’s CEO, Dahmane, at their Hampstead Heath headquarters, Anna learned they’d actually been wanting to start a wholesale relationship of their own. It worked out well for both sides.
Other partnerships followed a similar pattern. Good & Proper, recently awarded Best Matcha in the UK, supply the shop’s matcha, served the traditional way as matcha-tea rather than only in a latte. Minor Figures, also on Blackhorse Road, provide the oat milk. The Estate Dairy came on board in August, used for retail rather than milk-based coffee for now. They were chosen partly because Anna and Anton already used their butter and milk at home. It also helped that the Buy Women Built campaign counts the company as a member. “I’m running it like a feminist,” Anna said, “and I’m kind of feeling the connection with that.” Even the ceramic cups on the tables come from a local artist, found simply by Anna reaching out directly.
Becoming a Community Hub
Being a community space was an ambition from the start, and it shapes even small physical details. The table layout looks slightly unusual by design, giving customers a clear path to the till and toilet. It also leaves enough room to clear the floor entirely when needed. That flexibility gets used often. The shop has hosted dance workshops, including tango evenings lit by a disco ball and beam light that Anna describes as “very romantic.” There have also been creative workshops around bag stamping and yarn weaving, a herbal tea workshop, floral workshops with a local florist, and even a gathering tied to the local elections in March.
Anna laughs a little when she says she didn’t start with any existing network to draw on. “We didn’t know,” she said, of the early days. “I’m just fearless, I think. I’m just reaching out to people randomly.” Some of it hasn’t fully paid for itself, she covered the cost of the Christmas workshops she organised largely out of her own pocket, ticket sales included. But the relationship runs both ways too. One workshop came about because a customer simply walked in and asked if she could host something herself.
Dog and Family First
The shop’s family-friendly identity was there from day one too. “We are a family place,” Anna said. A wall of Polaroids near the counter documents the dogs that have visited. A recent collaboration with the Dog City App also featured the shop as a dog-friendly destination. It came with a week of “puppaccinos,” peanut butter with a sprinkle of treats on top, and a giveaway of dog goodies. Anna and Anton have their own Pomeranian, which she says only adds to the instinct.
What People Tend to Order
Despite the specialty focus, Anna has never really thought of the Starbucks just over the road as competition. “We have specialty coffee, we have V60, we have proper cold brew,” she said, alongside drinks that are harder to find locally, like Bumble, and an Espresso Tonic, only added in August and already more popular than expected. Flat whites remain the shop’s most ordered drink, with matcha and lattes close behind. V60 tends to pick up on weekends and evenings, when people are looking to slow down rather than grab something quickly. “People just want to unwind,” Anna said, gesturing to the shop’s more relaxed seating.
Coffee From Everywhere
Anton’s own route into coffee came through work. “As someone who works in software and IT, you’re kind of obliged to drink coffee,” he said. Constant travel for her consultancy job has shaped Anna’s path. She visits specialty coffee shops in whatever city she lands in, often bringing beans home for tastings, from Thailand, Slovakia, and elsewhere. That habit feeds directly into what she sees as part of the shop’s mission: coffee education for the local area.
There’s a funny story behind the shop’s own filter offering too. Anna has always travelled with drip coffee rather than face hotel espresso capsules. Years before Holy Grain & Brew existed, she’d asked Assembly and Volcano directly why they didn’t offer it. She was told the aroma doesn’t hold as well once ground, not quite in step with specialty coffee’s usual standards. Last year, both roasters introduced drip coffee anyway. “Feels like they stole our idea,” Anton said, laughing.
The Hardest Part of the First Year
Running the shop alongside a demanding day job has taken its toll in ways Anna is upfront about. “I still don’t know how I survived,” she said. Alongside the shop, she still works in consultancy, with around fifteen calls most days. She was also preparing to spend the whole of November travelling for work in Asia.
The most difficult moments, in her view, come from the unpredictable costs every small business eventually runs into. The clearest example: air conditioning units installed by the landlord began leaking during a heatwave, right as every air-con company in the area was fully booked. The problem sat there for close to a month. Remarkably, not a single customer complained. “We’re really blessed with our customers,” Anna said. Money remains tight since everything is self-funded. There’s still no guest bean on espresso, and Anna still needs to buy a second grinder, both things she’d like to have already but simply can’t yet justify.
Staff Who Grew Into the Role
Ali, one of the shop’s baristas, joined with no coffee experience at all. He taught himself much of what he now knows, working from a book their head barista gave him. He has become the shop’s standout in latte art, a detail customers name specifically in reviews. Rather than accept the high staff turnover common in coffee shops, Anna and Anton have leaned toward building longer relationships instead. Ursula joined initially for a summer job. But once Anna learned she was actually interested in marketing, she moved into that role instead, still covering shifts occasionally when needed.
What Success Looks Like Next
Asked what success looks like a year from now, Anna didn’t hesitate: “Become profitable.” Anton called it “a very concrete” goal, and they both laughed at how basic that ambition sounds this deep into running a business. It still depends significantly on their own funding continuing to carry things along, but they are confident they’re getting there. A new development nearby will bring an actual restaurant into the area too, though Anna sees that as a different kind of space entirely rather than direct competition.
For now, the plan is simply to keep building on what’s already working. That means more events, hopefully live music at some point, and continuing to serve the kind of community that’s formed around the shop. As Anton put it, “I feel we are kind of unique in our community-first approach. There’s not much else around here that strives in this niche.”
Before getting back on the bike I tried the Bumble. A first for me. It has the look of a cocktail, a striking two-tone drink. The dark coffee layer rests cleanly above a bright citrus base, with ice catching the light at the top. On the initial taste I wasn’t sure. It was a bit bitter but then I got it. It’s something I’d order again and I’d recommend giving it a go yourself when you visit.
Holy Grain & Brew | Unit 2, 2 Ashley Rd, London N17 9RW | 8-8pm on weekdays, 9-4pm on weekends | Motorcycle parking: free on Ashley Road in any residential, shared-use or Pay-by-Phone bay | Instagram: @holygrainandbrew
