Caramello, the popular Didsbury venue known for its coffee, gelato and brunch, is celebrating its tenth anniversary after a rocky start that nearly saw it close within its first year. The cafe, now on Whitechapel Street, originally opened just yards away on Wilmslow Road as a gelato parlour and patisserie, but owner Sham Sadiq has admitted the early days were far from smooth.
A difficult beginning
“It was something I had created initially with an investor on board but they had pulled out before we even opened,” Sham told the Manchester Evening News. “It meant I had to pretty much buy everything secondhand, I had put all my money into it, and it meant I was pretty much doing everything myself from day one.
“The initial spot we had didn’t quite work out. It didn’t feel right. I was quite close to giving it all up, you know. But my wife insisted I kept at it, we were given the opportunity to relocate into a second spot after about 16 months - and that’s when everything seemed to change for us. It’s my wife’s blessings that kept me at it.”
Finding its market
Having refined the menu with a greater focus on breakfast and brunch, Caramello found its market in Didsbury. Within months of reopening in its current location, queues stretched down the street, with people waiting up to 45 minutes for dishes such as Biscoff French Toast, homemade pancakes, acai bowls, steak toasties and lamb mezze with warm pitta bread.
“There wasn’t really anything else quite like it at the time,” said Sham, who worked in the food supply industry before opening the cafe. “We focus on making things from scratch, we use top ingredients and take the time to do things properly.
“I had been lucky enough to visit New York and Italy and I just saw the cafes there and thought I’d just love to open something like those. It was a childhood dream really but for a long time, I just never had the money for it.”
A halal pioneer and trendsetter
When it first opened, Caramello was also one of the first entirely halal venues in Didsbury, another draw for many. Sham said: “We’ve worked really hard on the vision for the place. We're a little off the main road, so sometimes, I feel like that means we have to try even harder than other places to try and make noise, but we've made it work.
“I’m not able to pay my chef thousands of pounds a week, but he’s been with me since day one. I like to think that says a lot about how we do things, and I like to think people know what to expect from us now. We’ve grown with our customers.”
Some of the cafe’s creations, such as its French Toast and Hot Honey infused dishes, have been on the menu before going viral, positioning Caramello as something of a trendmaker. “I like to think we’ve always had an idea of what works,” Sham said. “We haven’t been scared of daring to try things out. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.”
Anniversary changes and community expansion
To mark its ten year anniversary, Caramello recently underwent a refreshed interior and a revamped menu featuring new dishes and returning favourites. However, Sham faced backlash when the Mediterranean Omelette - featuring baby spinach, red onions, cherry tomatoes and cheddar - was taken off the menu. “Sometimes we like to change things around, and we can’t have hundreds of items on the menu as we only have a small kitchen,” he explained. “We thought, well, everyone can do an omelette so people probably won’t miss it but it turns out we were wrong on that occasion. We had a bit of an uproar, people weren’t happy. But the omelette is back now and we’ve learnt our lesson!”
Not everything will return, though. “We aren’t bringing the chicken waffles back,” he stressed. “They were a nightmare - the waffle machine was really expensive and it kept breaking down, it was always so difficult to get fixed. When it came to changing the menu, that was the first thing I took off!”
Earlier this year, Sham also opened Mello on Fog Lane, a grab-and-go spot he describes as the ‘little brother’ to Caramello, focusing on takeaway coffees and sweet treats. “Mello was about us giving back to the community, really,” he said. “We wanted to train youngsters who face a real difficulty in getting jobs in the industry in the first place and give them an opportunity to learn some valuable skills.”
Asked how the two venues differ, he said: “Caramello is a bit more sophisticated, it’s luxury and has these coffee brown colours, whereas Mello is a bit more of a teenager - it’s playful, bright yellow, and just a bit cheeky.”
Celebrating a decade
As part of its ten year celebration, Caramello is offering 20% off food and drink on Monday to Thursday throughout August, with the code ‘CARAMELLO10’ mentioned when booking or upon arrival. Every booking will also receive a free scoop of handcrafted gelato.
“Reaching ten years is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of,” Sham added. “Caramello has always been about more than just great food and coffee - it’s about bringing people together. This refresh draws on everything we’ve learned over the past decade, while staying true to the warmth and hospitality our guests have come to know and love. We can’t wait to welcome back familiar faces and introduce even more people to the Caramello experience.”
Caramello is at 10 Whitechapel St, Didsbury, Manchester M20 6UB.
