Hornchurch is dominated by national and international brands. They offer bland conformity, loyalty points and saturation advertising to get customers. And they are very successful. Fortunately, independents provide a treasured alternative.
Independents rely on knowing their customers and creating unique, welcoming environments. Staff are encouraged to know their customers and aren’t shy about telling them their name. Not with name tags but with a smile.
Le Moulin is a café owned by Hélène who is, appropriately enough, French. It is conveniently situated in central Hornchurch, long established and very successful. Its success isn’t because of ‘bland conformity, loyalty points and advertising’. Le Moulin relies on being excellent at what it does. And what does it do?
Obviously it’s a café serving hot and cold drinks but there is an extensive range of patisserie. Patisserie which isn’t mass produced and packaged in a factory. Nor are the cakes manufactured to fit in with a marketing strategy based on price.
There is an extensive offering of cold snacks, sandwiches and small plates of cooked food. These are very popular as are the different breads which are available.
Le Moulin caters for individual events like birthdays with bespoke cakes. And special occasions in the café are celebrated with High Tea. Independents work very hard at meeting the needs of their customers
The only downside to Le Moulin’s success is that it is often necessary to book a table to avoid disappointment. But! What a lovely thing it is that a café in Hornchurch is small and successful.
French’s Café in North Street is absolutely terrific for breakfast and traditional English cooked food. Like all independents, they move with the times working hard at providing a great experience for their customers. Competition is remorseless and they are agile enough to know their customers and their changing tastes.
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