Happy Bean Coffee Bar, which enjoys a sunny terrace on buzzing Bedford Place, is the realisation of a lifelong dream for former high-flier Jo Goulding.

The eatery boasts speciality coffee, which customers say is the best in Southampton.

It’s 100 per cent vegetarian with lots of amazing vegan cakes and snacks on offer and staff are welcoming to all.

READ MORE: Are these Southampton's finest pizzas?

Jo told the Daily Echo: “We opened in May 2021. It was a lifelong dream of mine to have my own catering business which I thought I would never achieve. When the pandemic struck I was working at Heathrow Airport as a senior manager and was offered voluntary severance, which I took and invested in starting my own business and opening the coffee shop.

“Our coffee is said to be the best in Southampton according to our customers. We are a super friendly place where anyone and everyone is welcome. We are diverse and inclusive, LGBTQ+ friendly. We have lots of families who visit, especially as we are opposite French’s where many people buy their school shoes. We openly welcome dogs.

“Being environmentally conscious, we have sustainability at the forefront of everything we do ensuring minimal waste and recycling, reusing as much as we can. Much of the furniture has been upcycled and we have a feature wall at the back made from old Victorian doors.

“We have a lovely outside seating area which is a wonderful place to sit with a coffee and watch the world go by. As we have free WiFi we have many people who come and work or study in the coffee shop. We are also next door to a car park and close to bus routes with cycle parking bars across the road.

“Great customer service is our absolute priority. We want everyone to feel welcome. We really do want every customer to come back again and again and we do our best to ensure our customers feel that. Plus they love the coffee, brownies, cakes and all the vegan offerings!

“The pandemic is what made this dream come to fruition. If I hadn’t left my corporate job I would never have opened the Happy Bean. It was a slow start as when we opened we were just coming out of the first lockdown so many people still did not feel comfortable to come out.”

It’s been full steam ahead for Jo and her team ever since.

There’s a wide variety of cakes and brownies to choose from, all hand made by local independents. And all the cafe’s morning goods are freshly baked on site every day.

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