New cafe Zaviya to open in popular Leeds coffee shop Wolfox serving gold leaf cappuccinos and blue matcha

Zaviya will be opening inside the current Wolfox venue on Wellington Street on January 9.

Its owner, Arshad Javed, has been in the food industry for more than 40 years with South Asian restaurant Shabab, which had a venue in Eastgate and later Bishopgate Street.

And his latest venture aims to enhance the food and drinks offering on Wellington Street.

Mr Javed said the two businesses had been working together for a year in the previous unit before Zaviya took over.

He said: “Wolfox was in a space that was too big for a coffee shop, so we took over the whole unit and we've moved the coffee business into an area of the same [property] demise which has an entrance coming in from Britannia Street.”

"We wanted to expand our menu. We felt as though, what Wolfox was offering, maybe we could add to it. And a decision was made because you can't call it Wolfox but then offer a different menu.

“We will remain very closely attached to the Wolfox coffee, the organic roasted coffee, we also retail Wolfox coffee in the premises, but we've changed the name of the place to Zaviya.”

And Mr Javed has big plans for the new cafe. The new menu will include many different coffees available including Spanish lattes, gold leaf cappuccinos and blue matcha. It will also offer four new smoothies using mixes of fruits and organic milks.

Located near many commercial offices, Zaviya also aims to cater for the lunchtime trade in the area by offering many takeaway items such as wraps and burgers at affordable prices. The new cafe is also excited to offer a wider range of salads made with salmon, chicken, prawns and more.

Mr Javed said: “We have been operating in Leeds in the hospitality sector under a different kind of name and cuisine for a long time. So, I think Leeds is challenging, but it is growing and particularly where Wellington Street and all the businesses are, we just feel that there is a lot of potential, and we have invested a lot of money trying to capture that. Let’s see what happens.”

And to celebrate its opening, Zaviya is offering 30% off its food and drinks menu available from Tuesday, January 9 to 17. Following this, it will be running a happy hour offer for coffee, where all drinks are 50% off from 8am-9am and 3pm-4pm.

Find out more information about Zaviya via its social media channels.