or you can go on Spotify and listen to our playlists and we have this thing called Longboys Lounge. So we're trying to not just create a doughnut shop, but it's a space you can come relax, chill, have a cup of coffee, bit of a sugar fix at the event side or when we're doing the pop-ups in the offices it's a nice space to come and see.
“In the summer here (Coal Drops Yard), it's packed. New Year's Day here, we have DJs coming in because nobody else is open and after New Year's Eve, everyone is pretty hanging. So they just come here and we have an absolute blast. Probably one of our best days of the year is New Year's Day here.”
Facing Challenges as a Business Owner
Selling doughnuts in London is a world away from the life Graham used to lead.
Asked how he found the transition, he explained: “Obviously you miss all the perks of corporate life, like the money, the bonuses, definitely the travel.
“But like with anything, large corporations, you can work really hard and then you can have the rug pulled. At that time there was this cleaning of house in Hakkasan and the rug got pulled, so everything that we'd done was gone. I was like, that's never happening again.
“So I went off, cleared my head, came back to the UK and was given an opportunity to start a new concept, so did.”
Asked what the toughest thing has been about being a business owner in this industry, Graham said: “Biggest challenge? Maintaining the headspace. After everything that goes on with you personally, professionally, with the environment, with the industry itself, COVID, investors, all of these things obviously weigh on you much more than they would do if you were in a whole corporate setup.
“There you just have to worry about your P&L and making sure your teams are okay. But this keeps you up at night. You worry about all the bills, where the next cheques are coming from, how we're going to make budgets, when the menu changes are coming on, visa applications, franchise offers, all of these things that you wouldn't even think about, everything sits on you.
“And that's the biggest challenge, keeping the headspace. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”
The Future of Longboys: Growth and Innovation
The doughnuts change seasonally, along with some staples such as peanut butter jelly, raspberry rose lychee and salted caramel pretzel.
The brioche base is rolled and cut by hand by the company’s five bakers, while fillings and toppings are made fresh, in house.
Looking ahead to the future of Longboys, Graham said: “Like everybody else, nobody’s fireproof. So we're hoping that we can maintain the business in its current form, grow it through franchise opportunity, be more visible through the events business and B2B through Longboys Lounge and those types of concepts, which we're trying to push.
“We have other ideas within the current setup that we want to do. But we just need to balance the books, like everybody, and make sure that we can keep up with it.
“The challenge is keeping your doors open, like it is for everybody, keeping everybody happy. But then all the ideas that we have, they're there, it's just how do we get there?”
