Independent coffee shop and sandwich business Cotton is set to open a new café-bar at the Goods Yard development in Stoke-on-Trent this month.
The new site, located in Capital&Centric’s landmark development next to Stoke-on-Trent railway station, will open on Monday, 23 June. It will serve coffee, juices, pastries and cakes daily from 8am to 4pm, while a new lunch menu, featuring sandwiches and salads made in-house, will launch in July.
Cotton has spent the past decade establishing itself in Manchester, with a base at Capital&Centric’s Neptune Mill since 2024. The Stoke-on-Trent location marks the next step in its expansion, alongside plans to set up a bakery at Farnworth Green in Bolton, another Capital&Centric development.
Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said: “Goods Yard is flying – we’ve been blown away by the level of interest, with homes renting at pace and people moving in this month.
“The addition of Cotton will only build on the buzzing community taking shape here. They do simple things really well – great coffee, banging bakes, butties that’ll knock your socks off and a proper friendly vibe – so we know they’ll go down a storm.”
Chris Griffith, founder of Cotton, said: “We’ve been part of the Capital&Centric community for a while now, and when we saw what was happening at Goods Yard, we knew we had to be a part of it. There’s a real buzz already and we’re excited to bring our coffee and bakes to Stoke-on-Trent – it’s all about quality, community and a bit of fun.”
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This is fantastic news and shows that Goods Yard is really bearing fruit with immediate effect. This has always been all about making a real community space with the kind of hospitality venues people want and will use.
“This development has created exciting opportunities for budding entrepreneurs in the city. It’s the perfect example of the kind of thing we want to achieve going forwards.”
The Cotton launch follows other developments at Goods Yard, which includes 174 rental homes, commercial space for independent businesses and on-site amenities such as a gym, co-working spaces and a mini cinema. A direct walkway linking the site to Stoke-on-Trent railway station is also due to open soon.
Further commercial units, including the restored Signal Box and the Vaults – a planned underground food hall – are still available. Interested businesses can email Capital&Centric on spaces@capitalandcentric.com for more information, while anyone interested in renting an apartment can book a viewing here.
