July 2011 feature on Olivers Sherborne’s Coffee House at the top of Cheap Street.
Does Sherborne have enough coffee shops? Have all of the tea shops now become coffee shops? Will the arrival of a national chain damage the business of the independents? As you walk up Cheap Street, one such business seems to rise above these considerations: it is Olivers, Sherborne’s original ‘Coffee House’. The Art Deco design and tiles attest to its beginnings in 1927 when Moulds & Evans set up as provision merchants. It has operated as Olivers for 25 years and for the last 17 years, Lawrence Scott has kept true to the basic principle: keep it simple and friendly.
Indeed, it is the friendly smiles as you walk in, the gentle background of chit-chat, the informal mingling around tables, the generally relaxed atmosphere that draws you in. There are newspapers and magazines dotted around which you can linger over and, for a while, you are encouraged to forget the call of chores or work and to enjoy the moment.
Opened as a Coffee House and not a Tea Shoppe, Olivers has kept pace with all of the fads and fashions and can offer any popular type of coffee, although black, white and cappuccino seem to cover most requests. Tea is definitely not forgotten and also features high on the order list. Whilst the aim is to keep it simple, the underlying tenet is to do this by offering good value and good service.
An appealing array of cakes is all home-made and at lunch-time there are quiches, baguettes, jacket potatoes, soups and salads, but no cooked meals. The turnover of people seems pretty constant although by late afternoon, business is quietening down prior to the end of the day. There are lots of people who think Olivers would make an excellent evening bistro but as Lawrence says, “keep it simple”.
When Olivers started up there were only two other coffee / tea shops in Sherborne – now there are 11 or 12. Whilst the population has not grown, the habit of stopping for a coffee or a tea has and visitor numbers to the town have also increased. Certainly, there seem to be a good number of regulars at Olivers, it is almost regarded as a Sherborne institution. Lawrence Scott has made a lot of friends through the business and had a lot of fun at the same time as running the business. But what of the future? Lawrence is nearing retirement and is thinking of moving on – but only if the right ‘caretaker’ for Olivers comes along!