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HM: What made you decide to open a café and why in Croydon?
The idea was never to open a café. I wanted to open the workspace mainly, to give tech and creative entrepreneurs a low cost place to work from. Knowing that was likely to take a few years to build up to profitability and because there was a lack of quality coffee in Croydon, it seemed logical to add the café to the mix.
HM: Once you had the brainwave how did you make MY a reality?
I looked at loads of places in the town centre, but found it hard to negotiate with the big corporate landlords. I was then lucky to come across the place we have now and found the landlord, a church, to be a breath of fresh air to deal with. They got what I wanted to do, saw the community value in it and gave me a lucky break! It was just a cavernous basement full of junk in January 2012. So from then on it’s been a constant process of building work, which I have been very hands on with to keep costs down.
HM: So what do you think MY brings to Croydon and why does Croydon need a space like it? It’s hard to answer this without sounding a bit egotistical. I think MY brings lots to Croydon. A hint at the potential for the future. A beacon of hope, phoenix rising from the ashes and all that sort of stuff is what we are held up to be by customers, politicians, the community and the local media. It’s an honorable mantel but it piles on the pressure to make sure it’s a success. I think lots of people are watching us and using us as a barometer.
HM: Since Warehouse Theatre’s closure there’s a real void in Community theatre in Croydon but rumour is you’ve a solution, tell us more. The loss of the theatre is tragic. Croydon needs all the art, culture and community space it can get to attract people to live and work in the town centre to regenerate its economy. We had some spare space available and when the Warehouse went it made sense to try and use that space to fill the void. It launched on 19th April, to coincide with our first birthday. It will be used for a variety of events from theatre, comedy and art
through to film and live music. We have already booked some great comics to perform in the space over the summer - Richard Herring, Mark Thomas and Robin Ince, to name a few.
HM: You’ve had a long list of events since opening what’s been the most popular? That’s tough. We have a really diverse events calendar, the Croxjam fundraiser last October was probably one of our most popular and favourite events, we had bands and musicians on from lunchtime til midnight. The art exhibition launches are always popular too and attract people from across London, including the other side of the river!
HM: What other good stuff do you have coming up on the events side of things? We have lots planned for the months ahead; theatre, film, comedy, live music, art, food events and so much more. Highlights for me personally have to be the Edinburgh Fringe Festival preview gigs I have lined up with some top acts.
HM: The MY brunch has become famous, what would be the must order if we were to stop by on a leisurely Saturday?
Another tough question. I love bacon (in case you couldn’t tell from the menu!) for me the big breakfast or the BLT are the must haves.
HM: Assuming you don’t spend every waking hour at MY where in London do you go to chill out, listen to gigs and have a nosh? Sadly, I don’t get out nearly as often as I should, luckily I am not a big drinker! When I do get time off I like to go to Crystal Palace or Brixton Village for food. For special occasions we go to the speakeasy style cocktail places like Experimental Cocktail Club or Pearl for drinks.
HM: Give us one reason why every Croydonite nay Londoner should frequent Matthew’s Yard? Because when you leave, you will have that little bit of (extra) love for Croydon, and it needs all the love it can get right now!
www.matthewsyard.com
• Words: Enam G Images: Saif Bonar portrait – Ernest Simons, MY shots provided by MY
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