Our Story: Philosophy, People & Background
People
Caracoli have a dedicated, hard working and skilful team both in the stores and behind the scene:
James Nichols
Managing Director
Previously General Manager at Hotel du Vin, Henley, Winchester and Bristol, James has considerable experience in the food and hospitality business. He has been with Caracoli since 2008.
Gail Nichols
Director
Gail has had a long career in catering, with a number of roles in London and running her own successful catering businesses. With her husband Chris, she opened the first Caracoli store in Alresford in 2005.
Philosophy
Caracoli: Food Store and Coffee shop grew from the desire to create an environment where coffee shop and retail food store come together in the same place. The motivation comes from an enthusiasm for outstanding food and drink and a wish to share this with our customers. Food and drink served in the coffee shop is of exceptional quality and freshness as it is made daily in our kitchens. Items sold in the food store are selected for their originality and high quality and sourced from both local and international producers.
Fresh food and drinks such as coffee, cakes and lunch items are hand made with the greatest care. We respect traditional recipes and foods but are excited by and search out new ideas in the food world. We are conscious of the origins of the food we serve and sell and like to support local producers.
The food store is a pleasant place for customers to browse, with a wide range of unusual food items from around the globe which are artfully arranged to be enticing and eye catching.
Our staff are well trained, knowledgeable and attentive to our customers’ needs. We want them to enjoy working as part of the Caracoli team and for this enthusiasm to be evident to our customers.
Background
Caracoli is a family run business. James Nichols, Managing Director and co-owner is responsible for the smooth overall running and management of the company. Gail Nichols (whose son James is co-owner) is founder and Director of Caracoli and is responsible for the purchasing and brand presentation.
James has a clear vision for Caracoli and will continue to develop the concept of modern coffee shops and food stores with a high benchmark for second-to-none fresh food and drinks combined with outstanding quality in everything sold.
The original inspiration for Caracoli came from Gail and Chris Nichols travels’ in the Antipodes and South Africa. They were struck by the stylish, contemporary cafes they found offering amazing coffee, cakes and light lunches whilst simultaneously incorporating a food store. On returning to the UK they were struck by how few similar places there were outside London and they wanted to bring this concept to the provinces. The first store opened in the Georgian market town of Alresford, Hampshire in November 2005.
