A NEW business which acts as a café combined with a vinyl and plants shop will open next week in a boost for the city centre.

Roots and Grooves, which will fill in the retail unit once occupied by Upchurch Jewellers in St Nicholas Passage, will open to members of the public on Wednesday, January 25.

Baz Briggs, who will be running the shop with his partner Amy, said he always had ambitions to open a business which was involved in selling vinyl.

He said: “I love records and we’ve always wanted to have a café with a record shop in it.

“I’ve got a very eclectic music taste and my partner, Amy, has got another business, a florist in Brightlingsea.”

The inspiration for the idea came after a bank holiday visit to a café in Bath, where the owners had mastered the balance of a retro café which also sold vinyl to music lovers.

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Mr Briggs said: “We went away for a weekend and saw a shop in Bath, and there were a few apple crates with records – this shop was absolutely heaving, and I thought ‘we need something like this in Colchester’, because it would work really well’.

“It was just a no-brainer, really.”

Music is very much one of Mr Briggs’s passions, and with his partner running a florist in Brightlingsea, Roots and Grooves will combine plants, music, and food when it opens next week.

“We’ve got nothing like this in Colchester – the whole thing just seemed like a good idea, so that was the premise of it.”

The catering side of the business will be run by Matt and Carly Brown – both long-term friends of the Briggses – and in the evenings, the upper floors of Roots and Grooves will be opened to independent traders.

“In the evenings, we will have pop-up events for food – we want to maximise the space for Mexican food, Thai food, vegan food, whatever.

“I think it’s a good concept, so hopefully it will work.”

If Mr Briggs puts his zeal into practice when the business opens next week, it will surely be a welcome addition to Colchester’s independent business scene.