'We’ve got no interest in going elsewhere': Why North Star is doubling down on Leeds with two new cafes

North Star Coffee Roasters, founded in 2013 by Holly Kragiopoulos and her husband Alex, is expanding from two to four cafés in Leeds, with new sites on Great George Street and in the Victoria Quarter due to open this summer.

“We feel very certain of people’s desire to interact with coffee and with humans in physical spaces,” Kragiopoulos told the Yorkshire Evening Post. “We feel it’s really important to continue investing in bricks-and-mortar sites to help bring all the work that goes on in our supply chain to life.”

The independent roaster launched at a time when Leeds had no local coffee roasteries. Since then, North Star has grown into a nationally recognised brand, with around 350 wholesale customers and some 1,200 online subscribers. However, Kragiopoulos says the business remains firmly rooted in the city where it began.

“We were Leeds’ first coffee roaster,” she said. “We’ve got no interest in having a retail space anywhere else. We have a very clear plan to expand within Leeds, almost as an acknowledgement of the support we’ve had from the city since our inception in 2013.”

The new openings will take North Star’s retail workforce from 13 to 21, including a new retail coffee lead role and a promotion for long-standing manager Chris Allsop, who will oversee all four sites as retail operations manager.

Kragiopoulos admits the decision to open on Great George Street, close to Leeds General Infirmary, is a deeply personal one. She has spent long periods there in recent years, including when her nephew was born with a heart condition.

“I used to have to drive [my sister and brother-in-law] coffee from one of our other sites,” she said. “When the unit became available, we really felt how valued that kind of offering would be to people visiting and working in the hospital. It was a no-brainer, because that’s exactly the kind of space we would have longed for.”

She believes Great George Street - long “overlooked” despite its architecture and location - has the potential to become “a fantastic destination street” as more independents move in.

The second new café, in the Victoria Quarter, came after North Star was approached by the landlords.

“They really emphasised how much care they’re putting into the brands they’re bringing in, prioritising values that are very much aligned with our own around sustainability and responsible ways of working,” Kragiopoulos said.

“The platform offered by that very central, recognisable location - and such a loved Leeds landmark - made it an obvious opportunity for us.”

Behind the expansion is a wider mission. North Star Coffee Roasters pays producers the price they say they need to be profitable and invests in long-term relationships and impact projects in coffee-growing regions.

She said: “Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil, but unlike oil, it’s reliant upon 125 million people to produce it. Consumers have got used to a price for coffee that has never been appropriate for what goes into producing it.”

With North Star a Living Wage employer and costs rising across the supply chain, she acknowledges the price of coffee will continue to increase - but argues that what customers receive in return is more than just a drink.

“Beyond just selling coffee, we really care about our spaces becoming a haven for our customers - where they walk in, we know who they are, we know what their orders are,” she said. “Our expansion is largely designed to create more opportunities for the amazing talent we already have within the business, while also welcoming new people in.”

The Victoria Quarter site is expected to open on June 1, with Great George Street to follow later in the month.