Velo Domestique’s 7th Birthday
The last Velo Domestique Birthday Party we were able to celebrate was way back on January 12th 2020, when we turned 4. Three years have passed since then, and we are happy to celebrate with you again, our friends who make Velo Domestique possible.
Much has happened since we turned 4; just 70 days after our birthday celebration Boris Johnson announced we were going into our first lockdown. The future of Velo Domestique, along with the majority of other independent hospitality businesses, was plunged into darkness. In the three years since, due to the consistent support from our fantastic customers, the incredibly hard work of our bike team (particularly Mike Stone) throughout lockdowns keeping essential workers on their bikes, the ability of our team to adapt to the constant changes and pressures created by the government, the economy and Coronavirus Velo Domestique has been able to survive. In a time when many other businesses have sadly been forced to close their doors, we would like to celebrate the fact that we are still here and still able to serve our community.
Despite these challenges, there has been much to celebrate since our 4th Birthday; the birth of Lockdown Community Radio, our opening and subsequent closure of Lead Out Coffee & Bikes showing us how fortunate we are to have Velo Domestique nestled in the incredibly supportive community of Southbourne, winning the BH Stars 2020/21 Cafe of the Year, our decision to introduce espresso-based coffee to our menu, the ever-increasing number of fantastic UK and European roasters who we have had the pleasure of guesting, record-breaking numbers of bike servicing, the arrival of Tarlo the dog, Lou got married, taking our catering caravan to many more successful events including the British BMX Championships (hosted by Bournemouth BMX), Woods Grand Rando and Brother in the Wild.
We organised our biggest ever Cranksgiving event collecting over 170kg of food for Hope for Food with one rider alone (Adam) carrying a massive 30kg. The first Velo Christmas Party, Dan and Jenny got married, hosting the fantastic PAST series organised by NFORC, serving Johnathan Ross a long black at Greenman Festival with the Hard Lines Crew, Campbell came back, producing our collaboration coffee 'Cargo Blend' with Bad Hand, carrying the speakers (on cargo bikes) for Dom Whiting's DnB on a Bike event, constantly developing our food menu to serve you the best dishes possible with new items coming when we reopen on the week of January 23rd, our team striving to serve the best coffee in Dorset, a summer full of successful Pizza Runs.
We are optimistic that 2023 and our 8th year open will bring more adventures together, exciting culinary creativity, more delicious guest coffee roasters and a steadier business climate. We look forward to enjoying it with you.
Huge thank you to:
All of our fantastic customers, Jenny, Mike, Sarah, Kyle, Lou, Tom, Campbell, Emmy, Allison, Mike D, Joe, Steven, Alex, Grace, Ant, Molly, Phoebe, Irene, Little Ben, Rachel, Jacob, Blaikie, Amber, Joe, Rufus, Issy, Andrew, Josie, Jade, Jas, Grace, Elliott, Maurice, Pauline & Rachel - Atorro Sports, the Bad Hand crew, Matt, Sam and the Hard Lines crew, Jacob Smith, Ben Ramshaw, Layla Aylott, Rich and Nik from The Way Out Back, Will & James of Brother Cycles, Toby (aka DJ Max Ray), Kyle and the Lo Key gang, We Broke Free, Stewart Gilbert, Leo from Cuttin it Fine, Steinen and the Omnium team, Cycle Like a Girl, El's Workwear, Chloe of Coffee Time Languages, Jay, Nic and the NFORC, Passenger Clothing, Conker Gin, Amy & Nick Frith, Mike Walsh - CTC Cycling Uk, Gridiron Volunteers, Jim Turner, Gareth, Renovatio Bikes, Pylon Soundz, Unity Beer, Small Block Doughnuts, Ue Coffee Roasters, Sonia and the Coastal BID team, Jimmy's Iced Coffee, Hope for Food, Annie and the Cold Water Collective, Joe Carpenter, Bakehouse 24, the Wednesday Night Ride crew, everyone who attended a Pizza Run, John and the Bournemouth BMX team, WARM Agency, Big Wigs Bakery, Meadowbrook Produce, OVO, Longman's Dairy, Katie, Dan's Mum Margot & Tarlo the Dog.