If you've looked in our fridge recently you'll have noticed the arrival of vitaminwater, a range of bottled drinks that - as you've probably guessed from the name - combine vitamins with water (and a few other ingredients, otherwise they wouldn't taste of much!)
There's much more to The Laine Deli than our shop. We also do outside catering, supplying food to all kinds of events - from business breakfasts and working lunches to product launches and other celebrations. We can provide a sandwich platter with fruit, drinks and a variety of cakes... and we can even bake a giant cupcake that'll serve up to 14 people. It's the perfect birthday cake for people who don't like birthday cakes!
Probably our best-selling cake at the moment: Rocky Road. That's a mixture of milk chocolate, marshmallows and crushed biscuits... although we've successfully experimented with a white chocolate version as well. But please don't wait until the end of the day - we often sell out!
Our telephone number is on our front window. It's on our signs. It's on our business cards. It's on our menus. It's even on our website. So imagine our surprise when we discovered it had changed - without us being told. Due to what we'll charitably refer to as a misunderstanding, we were allocated a new number when we took over... which might explain why we thought no-one loved us any more. Fortunately, after 90 minutes of phone calls, we've arranged for our original number to be returned. So, with any luck, we'll be back to normal in a day or two.
Whether or not you believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day - and we reckon it all depends what you're doing for the rest of the morning - there's certainly no excuse for missing out at The Laine Deli. To start with, we serve breakfast all day... and that includes our 'Deli Breakfast' with scrambled egg, grilled vine tomatoes, crispy bacon, sausage and your choice of toasted bread. We also make a delicious Breakfast Smoothie with wholesome oats, berries and honey: the perfect breakfast-on-the-go when there's no time to sit around!
We love our coffee machine. It's an Italian work of art. And we love our Italian coffee, too. Together they're a persuasive combination. We've now added a third ingredient to clinch the deal: The Laine Deli loyalty card. Make sure we stamp it every time you buy a coffee. Collect eight stamps and we'll give you your next coffee completely free. It's as simple as that!
Introducing our sandwich of the day: a bold combination of salami, turkey, Swiss cheese, gherkin and mustard mayonnaise. We'll serve it on granary bread, white bread, ciabatta, baguette or bagel. And we'll leave out the gherkin if you really, really don't like it.
Thank you to everyone who turned up and made our first day at The Laine Deli so much fun. The free samples of smoothies, cakes and biscuits all disappeared very quickly... as did our supply of sandwich bread. We'll be placing a much larger order for tomorrow. Time to tidy up now and head off for a quick celebration in Brighton - before an early night. See you on Wednesday!
Although we've been in a bit of a baking frenzy recently, we've not neglected the other items on our menu. We're planning to have soup available every day at The Laine Deli - and we're always open to suggestions, too. If you have a favourite recipe you'd like us to offer, please let us know... even if you've got no idea how to make it!
The Laine Deli is open again after four frantic days of decorating, cleaning, baking and paperwork. The paint is now out of our hair - at least, we think it's all gone! - and the deli is back in business. So, before our breakfast customers arrive, there's just time to introduce our most important non-human member of staff: Rancilio, the coffee machine. Italian, of course.
We spotted a bus stop outside The Laine Deli at 31 Trafalgar Street and wondered where the buses went. Well, they start from the Meadowview area of Bevendean and go past the Open Market on Ditchling Road before coming past our shop, going to Brighton Station and then heading onwards to Kemp Town and the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Full details about the 38a are on the Brighton & Hove bus company website.
The painting's finished and the baking's started. The chilled cabinets are switched on and the deliveries are arriving. We'll be open for business at 8am tomorrow, Tuesday 21st April... and we're looking forward to meeting you!
We're officially in charge!
We were allowed in today to start the cleaning and redecorating. It's been pretty hectic - and there's even more to do tomorrow. "Ruby Starlet" did a good job, although she'll need another more couple of coats before we're done...
It looks as though we'll be signing the business paperwork on Friday. We'll then be giving the deli a fresh coat of paint ("Dulux Ruby Starlet"), bringing in some new equipment and should be ready to re-open The Laine Deli early next week.
The excitement continues: our new business cards have arrived. (This probably isn't all that exciting for most people, is it?)
We've finally chosen a takeaway coffee cup for The Laine Deli. Finding a solid cup with a lid that fits properly isn't as easy as you'd think - but we've managed. We're also planning to offer a discount for customers who bring their own cups. (No buckets, please!)
We've been testing a few recipes ahead of moving into The Laine Deli. (Our move should happen next week if everything goes to plan). The chocolate cookies worked particularly well, so they'll definitely be on the menu!
It's named, so we're told, after Capuchin monks - technically the "Order of Friars Minor Capuchin" - who've been around since the 16th century. The Capuchins were inspired by St Francis of Assisi and chose to wear hooded brown robes. This distinctive appearance led to the brown Capuchin monkey being named after the Capuchin monks. Makes sense to us. What it doesn't really explain is how a coffee topped with foamed milk was also named after the monks. Still, at the turn of the 20th century, that's pretty much what seems to have happened.
