New coffee shop supporting QAC students opens in Bearwood!

#CoffeeCrew, a café recently opened in Bearwood, will aim to offer work placement opportunities for QAC students, enabling our students to experience a real life working environment and further develop valuable employability skills.

In July 2016, our social enterprise, Coffee Junction, unfortunately ceased commercial trading. However as one chapter closes, another has opened and an opportunity has arisen for new owners to lease the venue from QAC and ensure that the shop continues to be a part of the Bearwood community.

For the past month, #CoffeeCrew, a coffee shop owned by former Young Apprentice contestant Ben Fowler, has been open to the public. Ben was a contestant on the popular BBC TV show as a 16 year old, back in 2011.

 In anticipation of the shop’s opening, even Lord Sugar himself got involved on social media, mentioning #CoffeeCrew on Twitter to create an even bigger buzz! 

Before turning to #CoffeeCrew, Ben had set up a gardening business at the age of just 13. Since then, Ben’s coffee shop has outgrown its premises located in Halesowen and he has chosen to relocate to the site in Bearwood that was formerly home to Coffee Junction.

In an interview reflecting on his stint on the Young Apprentice, when asked about what Ben had learnt from the experience, he said “It taught me to work hard and be yourself, because in business you need to be honest. The show also helped me in a simple way, talking to Lord Sugar and learning that you can make something from nothing!”