A “friendly” Horwich cafe with coffee brewed from local beans has been nominated for Bolton News Best Coffee Shop 2024.

Beanz Coffee Company has earned its status as a “community” coffee shop.

And owner John Davies, 57, takes care to make everyone welcome.

He said: “The shop has a friendly atmosphere.

“We have a lot of regulars of all ages, from school children to the elderly.

“A girl who's only six with cerebral palsy comes in everyday just to say hello.

“And we have a regular who is 90 years old and comes in with her son twice a week.

“The shop is very welcoming.

“You couldn't come in and not speak to somebody.”

And Beanz has built a reputation for great local coffee.

He said: “We aim to make quality drinks. Our coffee beans are from Bolton suppliers.

“Everything we use, we try to buy locally. Down to the cups.”

They offer fresh, unfussy food to go with it.

He said: “We have simple breakfasts like crumpets and porridge.

“For lunch there’s ciabatta, jacket potatoes and barms.

“These are quick, easy and inexpensive to sell because we want to keep our prices fair.

“As we’re a community coffee shop, we don't want to rip people off.”

And John is the face of all of it.

He said: “I pretty much run it on my own. My wife comes in on odd days and helps me out if it’s busy.”

He started Beanz Coffee Company at age 53 on a gamble, during a pandemic.

He said: “I decided to pack my job in 2021.

“Right in the middle of coronavirus.

“My daughter had opened a hairdresser's when a unit went up for sale next door.

“I had been a manager of a dairy in Manchester.

“I had no experience with coffee, but always loved it. And I’d bought a coffee machine in Rome.

“And the owner of Coffee Grind, Nigel Lyons, taught me everything I know.

“When I opened Beanz, it was a massive risk.

“We didn't know if it would work out.

“At first, we could only do takeaways. Slowly, we built up to having indoor service.

“But it was also a good time to start. People couldn't go out and wanted a coffee, even to take away.

“It broke us in gently to the job.

“We could build the shop up slowly instead of being rammed every day.”

John keeps his beans local, but gains inspiration all over the world.

He said: “There are some really good independent coffee shops with the interior design that I love.

“And I try and incorporate that in ours.

“This year, when I went to Cyprus, I tried four or five of them.

“Our decor is probably a mixture of ten coffee places around the world that inspired us.”

To vote pick up today's paper.