Corgi Cafe, a new 24/7 coffee spot in Shoreditch, opened its doors on August 8 at 74 Great Eastern Street, aiming to provide a permanent workspace for 'very ambitious people'. The cafe offers free Wi-Fi and no minimum spend, serving coffee and cold bites around the clock.
Not Your Average Dog Cafe
Despite its name, Corgi Cafe is not a cuddle-friendly dog cafe. It is the latest venture from Corgi, an AI-native insurance startup for tech companies, founded by Emily Yuan and Nico Laqua in San Francisco. The company has been described as having 'the most intense workplace culture in America', with employees working seven days a week and Nico known for sleeping just three hours a night on a mattress in his office.
The cafe is designed as a space for 'builders', 'overachievers', and 'hustlers'. Josh Shih, Corgi's head of underwriting, who leads operations in the UK and Europe, said: 'Emily and Nico always found it hard to find a space to work late at night, so we decided to create that space for very ambitious people who want to work hard, but didn’t know where to go.' He added that the San Francisco cafe is 'generally filled at any time of the day; it doesn’t matter if it’s 2am or 4am, you still have people there working and grinding away.'
Dystopian or Personal Choice?
Some may view the concept as dystopian, but Shih argues it's about personal preference. 'It’s just a personal choice. Some people like to work hard, others prefer not to. No one is being forced to work in the cafe late at night,' he clarified.
Menu and Unique Features
The cafe's menu includes standard teas and coffee, alongside exclusive AI-inspired beverages. Partnerships with tech companies have produced drinks like the Eleven Latte by ElevenLabs and the AI Gateway Drug, an espresso-lime-tonic creation sponsored by ngrok.
A notable upcoming feature is the Y Combinator Office Hours Simulator, developed with Lemon Slice AI. These booths allow visitors to chat with AI avatars of Y Combinator partners, including managing director Jared Friedman, for 10 minutes to get feedback on startup ideas. Shih confirmed one is arriving at the London location soon.
Why an Insurance Company Opens Cafes?
The cafe concept emerged from necessity when the founders leased an office in San Francisco with an unwanted retail space below. They turned it into a hub for 'like-minded individuals' to work on startup ideas. Shih noted, 'As Nico likes to put it, there are very few cafes in the world that you know every month there are probably at least 10 people sitting there coming up with the next billion-dollar idea.'
Corgi Cafe has locations in San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, and now London. Reviews are mixed, with some praising the rare 24/7 space and others calling it 'soulless' and 'AI-generated'. Founder Nico responded to aesthetic critiques on X, saying, 'Critiquing the aesthetics is missing the point; it’s like me saying YouTube isn’t good because the like button design isn’t very pretty. The Corgi cafe is a network effect product.'
London Cafe and Future Plans
The London cafe features a vibrant orange exterior and Renaissance-inspired murals with corgis, a departure from the original San Francisco site. The team now owns a Welsh Corgi named Archibald Clifton, who occasionally visits. Over 1,000 people attended the grand opening, and hundreds have signed up for networking events. Shih says the company is considering more locations soon.
