13th Floor Coffee Co.

Benny Locke

How did this place come about and what made it different from the start?
13th Floor was founded by Simon and Benny, who run End of the Road as their day jobs. In 2020, we couldn’t hold the festival for reasons that shan’t be mentioned, so instead of sitting around waiting for the world to get back to normal, we started discussing things we both enjoyed and shared an interest in. We settled on good coffee and community, and thus the seeds of our coffee company were sown.

After months of research and location scouting, we pitched a fully converted horsebox trailer café in the gardens of St Mary’s Church in Stoke Newington, opposite Clissold Park, and began trading in March 2021. Because of our connections to musicians through our festival work, we decided early on to hire out-of-work musicians to support them. While we don’t exclusively hire musicians today, they still make up the majority of our team.

If someone is coming in for the first time, what should they not miss?
Whatever we have on as our guest filter. Hell, why not grab a bag of beans and get a free coffee while you’re there?

We’re also often told that we have one of the best house espressos in the city! We call it ‘Raw Power’ and it’s a beautiful natural Ugandan coffee from Elsewhere Coffee, our main coffee supplier, who are based in South London.

What has been an interesting challenge that has made you rethink something about the project?
We ran a small kitchen operation for 18 months and, while the food we offered was of a high standard, it made us realise just how difficult it is to break even when you’re making food to order. We had to make the tough decision to close the kitchen and refocus on sourced food from local premium bakeries.

What influence, idea, or reference continues to shape the way you work today?
It would be a miss not to mention that we currently only trade from horsebox trailers pitched in church gardens. It’s an unusual setup that continues to shape how we think about hospitality and community. That said, plans are afoot to open a brick-and-mortar café within the next 12 months.

What place, project, or person has inspired you recently and why?
For a simple but exceptional coffee and food offering, I can’t recall being more impressed than during my first visit to Prufrock on Leather Lane. Great service, a wide range of coffee options and a simple yet effective food menu. Their bacon on toast with espresso hollandaise is particularly noteworthy.

As for pastries, the best I’ve had in recent years have definitely come from Eric’s in East Dulwich.

If your space could invite someone to collaborate for a day, who would it be and what would you do together?
A major inspiration for us from the outset was Hard Lines from Cardiff. We loved their sense of playfulness and it made us realise we wanted to lean into that spirit rather than present something more serious. A collaboration with them would be great. We also run a community Run Club, so perhaps we’d organise a joint run somewhere wild and unexpected.

Is there an object, corner or detail of the place that has a story that few people know?
Why 13th Floor? When we were coming up with the name, we wanted something connected to music, so we named the project after the 13th Floor Elevators, arguably the greatest psychedelic band of all time. Coffee elevates, the 13th Floor Elevators elevate, and somehow the connection stuck. It’s a loose link, but we like it.

If this project were a city, a book, or a record, which would it be and why?
We’re nothing without our staff, so if 13th Floor were a record, it would be defined by the people who make it what it is. Here’s a selection of standout albums and releases created by members of our team:

Golden Dregs – Godspeed
Dana Gavanski – Late Slap
Lichen – In My Dreams You Were Golden
Perfect Binding – Perfect Binding
The Weird Weather Underground – Thinkin’ Pynchon Blues
Girl Ray – Prestige
Flamingods – Head of Pomegranate
Modern Woman – Johnny’s Dreamworld
Static Palm – Static Palm