Gray's Leeds: Meet the owner behind beloved coffee shop putting Rothwell 'on the map'

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This award-winning coffee shop in Leeds is putting Rothwell “on the map”. 

Gray’s in Commercial Street was founded by Heather Amos and her husband Giles in July 2019.

Heather, who moved to Leeds for university and settled in Rothwell 20 years ago, has more than two decades of experience in the food industry working at giants such as Arla. 

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But Heather said she had always longed to open a coffee shop. It was when her mum fell ill that Heather realised “life is very short and you need to do what you want to”. 

“It was a complete career change,” Heather told the Yorkshire Evening Post

Gray's in Commercial Street, Rothwell.Gray's in Commercial Street, Rothwell.
Gray's in Commercial Street, Rothwell. | James Hardisty

“An existing business came up for sale and we just thought, ‘let's do it’.” 

In the five years the business has been opened, Gray’s, which is named after Heather’s grandad and son, is putting the town of Rothwell “on the map”. 

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Heather said: “We won quite a lot of awards over the last few years, but I think the Oliver Awards for us was a biggie. That was massive for us just to be acknowledged. 

“One of the things that I always think is that everything always seems to be focused around the city centre, and particularly North Leeds, and South Leeds gets forgotten a little bit. 

“We keep putting Rothwell on the map. People are finding us now and they know Rothwell. We've got people travelling to come to us because they heard about us, which is just amazing.” 

Gray’s is well-known for its coffee, which is roasted in North Yorkshire and often considered one of the best in Leeds

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But the coffee shop offers much more, including a breakfast and lunch menu with all the classics from an English breakfast to a BLT and their vegetarian and vegan alternatives. 

Gray’s also hosts a range of pop-ups in the evenings as well as ‘coffee and cuddles,’ which are weekly parent and baby meetups. 

During Covid-19, Heather said the business had to adapt and what was a really difficult time for many led to many great things for Gray’s. 

Heather said: “When we first started, it was about seven months before Covid so that was a really scary time, because we didn't really know what was going to happen, and we were still finding our feet really and getting established. 

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“ I know it seems like a long time ago now. But it was so huge for us, only being a very, very new business, not necessarily getting all the funding that other businesses would have got, because we haven't been established long enough. 

“But we just adapted. I think we had closed for about five weeks, and then we were like, ‘we've got to do something, we've got to make this work’. 

“We took on the building next door and knocked a hole in the wall and more than doubled in size, and then put a lovely outdoor terrace on the back as well, which has been amazing for us. It's like being on holiday. You don't think you're in Rothwell when you sit out there. 

“And we did thousands and thousands of afternoon teas to take away during that period. 

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“That, without question, was probably the biggest thing that we had to overcome.

“I think it'll be interesting to see what the budget brings for us, because we see there's quite a few that affect small businesses. It's going to be a tough 12 months for small businesses.”

The support that the business received over these difficult times and still today has been “incredible,” Heather said. 

“Rothwell is a lovely community. We've got very, very loyal customers. We're very lucky. And I think people just like trying something new, and they like supporting locals. 

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“So everything we do tends to work. We do a lot of workshops like arm knitting and painting, wreath making at Christmas, and everything always seems to do really well. I think customers just really get behind it.

“We have customers that come in every single day without fail and it's just lovely. It's just a really lovely community vibe.”

The best part about running her own business has been the people. Heather goes as far to say “that’s the whole reason [she] did it”. 

“I just love people and love the nurturing atmosphere that we have created at Gray’s,” she explained. 

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“It's just really nice and warm and fuzzy. It makes me really happy and generally, I really like working there, but it's just a really nice environment. 

“You'll see from just reviews on Google and TripAdvisor that we always get really highly complimented on the staff and what a nice atmosphere it is. That's probably the biggie for me.”

We’re writing a love letter to Leeds - here’s how you can get involved

We’ve launched our new #LoveYour campaign to celebrate the amazing local businesses, people, places and quirks that make Leeds so great.

Our new #LoveYour campaign will celebrate the amazing local businesses, people, places and quirks that make Leeds so great.Our new #LoveYour campaign will celebrate the amazing local businesses, people, places and quirks that make Leeds so great.
Our new #LoveYour campaign will celebrate the amazing local businesses, people, places and quirks that make Leeds so great. | National World

The campaign, which coincides with the annual ‘Journalism Matters’ week and comes in the run-up to the festive season, will be a love letter to the city as we focus on everything from amazing pubs to top notch chippies, from the most beautiful walks to family favourite attractions.

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Our reporters are out and about experiencing the community afresh and reporting back, but we also need you to share your top local tips. If you #LoveYour - we want to know what and why.

Let us know what you think makes Leeds special by [email protected].

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