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About eight years ago, Lewin and Fraser had just moved to the area when they spotted a derelict building with a "cafe to lease" sign on it, and started to imagine what it could become. Today that building is The Homestead, a busy park café in Lewisham with its own coffee roaster, a courtyard full of music in the summer and nearly 50 people on the payroll.
An accidental career
Lewin, now a director of the business, didn't plan a life in hospitality. He walked into a Pret after university to clear his overdraft and never really left the industry. Asked what he enjoys most, his answer is refreshingly direct: "People, and not sitting on my arse."
The idea behind The Homestead is just as straightforward. "We sell stuff that we would like to buy, eat and drink ourselves," he says. Nearly everything is made on site and sold with pride, and the café now roasts its own coffee too.
The business got very busy during Covid and, in Lewin's words, has been on a rollercoaster ever since. Behind it are Lewin, Fraser and a team of passionate hospitality professionals, including whole families who work at the café together.
If you smell burnt toast
What most visitors don't realise is that the coffee is roasted right there in the courtyard. "If you smell burnt toast, that's us roasting," Lewin says.
That courtyard has grown into a proper community space, with DJs, live music and free family events every week through the summer. The café only closes on Christmas Day, and this year the team is even thinking about opening for the morning on the 25th.
A park that used to be a golf course
The Homestead sits in a Lewisham park that used to be a golf course, and some locals still call it the golf course. For runners, it is a beautiful place to start the day. "The park is stunning, especially in the morning when the mist hangs on the lake and surrounding fields," Lewin says.
As for the customers, there are a few famous faces among them, but don't expect any names. "We're very discreet!"
The runner's order
The Homestead team are, by their own admission, massive cyclists rather than runners, but Lewin knows exactly what to recommend after a morning loop of the park: an espresso and a warm butter croissant, with a Veloforte bar for your back pocket.
The food is fresh and mostly healthy, and the coffee, he promises, is killer. He has one piece of runner's advice too, borrowed from the cycling world: "Pigeon pose for the ITB!"
Find The Homestead on RLS
Open the Run Love Sprint app and visit the RLS Rewards partner directory to read more about The Homestead and stay up to date with anything new for members.
The Homestead Café, bakery and coffee roastery in Lewisham Email: lewin@thehomesteadcafe.co.uk
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