Retailer Spotlight – Cole’s Corner

Cole’s Corner, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield

Can you tell us your name and background before Cole’s Corner?

My name is Nicole Jewitt. I moved to Sheffield in 2003 to work for the Drum & Bass Arena.
Since settling here, I have worked in the events industry in various roles from General
Manager at Plug, Venue Marketing Coordinator for Sheffield’s O2 Academy, and co-
promoter of events such as Sheffworld SlamJam, Boom Ting, and Freshen Up to name a few.
After being made redundant from Plug at autumn 2019 I decided it was time to start
working full time for myself and I set about finding a space.

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of Cole’s Corner?

Cole’s Corner is so called as a nod to the original Coles in city centre, the famous Richard
Hawley track, and a play on the fact my name is Nicole and we are on a corner!
We opened our record shop café bar on the election night in December 2019 and we have
always been proud to show our political colours.
We got off to a great start with a busy Xmas, New Year and into February. Then the
unimaginable happened… the first COVID lockdown. We had to evolve the business many
times in this period to deal with restrictions/rules brought about by the pandemic.
First we started a ‘pay it forward soup scheme’ which was a big hit. We made seasonal soups
from organic veg grown locally and distributed it all around the city. People who could afford
paid and those who could not got it for free. As the lockdown restrictions began to ease we
realised with social distancing rules and our small venue we would have to think outside the
box… or outside the shop anyway.
In June 2020 we set about constructing the lean-to on the side of the building. Initially this
housed 3 booths which were separated by planters. Thanks to this and the glorious weather
that summer the terrace area was very popular.

More recently the cost of living crisis and rising energy prices forced us to change our opening
hours and menus while working hard to stay true to our ethos – of green, local, seasonal
and organic wherever possible. Alongside the shop and café, our monthly pop-up events like
Reggae & Roast, Ramen Club, Jazz Sundays and Soup & Verse are our most popular offering.

Cole’s Corner covers such a wide range of products in your inventory, from music, to clothes,
jewellery to food and even original artworks. If you could curate a shopping list that showed
the best of everything on offer, an outfit with a soundtrack with some tasty treats and art,
what would that look like?

A Tribes tee paired with a pair of Lynn Fisher funky trousers with a Scavenger bag, and
Gardna’s latest LP on the headphones, enjoying a delicious bowl of ramen made by chef
Podderz while enjoying some of Patty B’s awesome artwork! Maybe with a pair of F**k The
Tories earrings by the awesome Lady and the Laserbeam.

What sets Cole’s Corner apart from other retailers in Sheffield? Could you highlight any
exclusive events taking place or rare products that you stock?

We are the only shop in Sheffield selling signed Artist Taxi Driver Sunday prints and more.
We have been privileged to host his Sunday newspaper reviews on numerous occasions,
welcoming special guests including former Lord Mayor Magid Magid, Rev from Reverend
and the Makers and most recently Martyn Ware (founder of Human League and Heaven17).
We are also one of only a few stocking Khoo’s Hot Sauce, Scavengers recycled rope
products and Lady and the Laserbeams F**k the Tories merch.

What food trends have you noticed recently? How do you incorporate them into your
offerings?

RAMEN, RAMEN, RAMEN!

We love fiery food at Khoo’s Hot Sauce. How hot do you like it? Could you let us know your
favourite spicy meal?

Tough call between Chef Gowri’s Ceylon chicken curry with Dosa or our house special curry
goat with rice and pea.

Where do you envision Cole’s Corner in the next few years? Any exciting plans?

We are currently working with our landlord on plans to build a proper extension where the
lean to is. Something soundproofed enabling more gigs/music events and linking to the main
shop, plus an upgrade to the kitchen so we can do more foodie events.

Music is obviously a big part of Cole’s Corner. What album are you listening to at the moment?

Right now it’s the ‘Jazz Jamaica’ compilation by the Cool Cats from The Alpha Boys School.
We are really into old school Jamaican jazz at the moment … tracks by the likes of Ernest
Ranglin, Monty Alexander and Don Drummond. You will hear lots of this kind of stuff at our
monthly Jazz session (3rd Sunday) and we have some rarities available to buy on vinyl too.

If one of our readers from outside of your area was to make the journey to visit your shop,
are there any other local attractions that you could recommend to make the perfect daytrip
out of a visit to Abbeydale Road and Sheffield South?

Abbeydale road is fantastic… from The Bear to Tiago’s is approximately 1 mile with loads of
fantastic independent businesses to explore. Grab yourselves a lovely houseplant from
Gravel Pit or perhaps some packaging-free goods from Bare Essentials and pop in to see us
for a coffee and a slice of our famous Spiced Island Banana cake while you wait for some
printing from Mensa’s or your pooch to be groomed at Snip Doggy Dog.

If you could convey one message to our customers, what would it be? What do you want them
to know about Cole’s Corner beyond the shelves?

We are part of the community, we care about our people and the planet and are not just here to
make money. We are very proud to showcase local products like Khoo’s Hot Sauce and all the
other lovely, local goods we sell.