More Than a Café: Neighbourhood’s Role in Belfast’s Community Revival

By Carmen Gray and Naomi Rooney

Social cohesion, or a ‘sense of community’, has become a significant topic of discourse in recent years. Many argue that the reduction of traditional community spaces has left large cities feeling lifeless and disconnected — and Belfast is no exception. In response to this shift, local businesses in the city are stepping up, and one such business, Neighbourhood Café, is redefining what it means to be part of a community. Naomi and I sat down with Oisín McEvoy, the owner and operator of Neighbourhood Café, which has just opened in a new premises in Belfast’s city centre. Located at 61 Donegal Street, Neighbourhood aims to be more than just a café; it strives to create a small community within the heart of a bustling city.

Why bring Neighbourhood to Belfast?

O: We wanted to bring Belfast something it didn’t already have — something new. We wanted to bring a neighbourhood to the city centre, where our biggest focus was service and people. I’ve found that coffee can be very snobby and uninviting — I wanted to open somewhere I felt like my granny could go into, as well as students and professionals; somewhere everyone is embraced. Post-Covid, Belfast city centre was cold, stark and dead — we wanted to create a space that felt the opposite of that: warm, inviting, and an amenity for everyone to enjoy.

Oisín’s hopes for the café shine through in results. Reports have shown that footfall in the city centre is rising to pre-Covid levels. As more and more people flock back to the city centre, new additions like Neighbourhood have helped kickstart a resurgence in community.

What does the Neighbourhood community aspect mean to you?

O: Our design is very deliberate; we have a central open coffee bar which operates as the heart of Neighbourhood coffee. It keeps us accountable and invites people in — everything beats from it. We have different avenues within the café — booths for families, chairs for people doing work, and 8-seaters as a communal space.

The open-plan coffee bar, around which everything is centred, serves as the ‘town hall’ of the neighbourhood — a space where people gather to chat and place their orders. With the decline of traditional community spaces such as church groups, local activity clubs, and smaller social events, people in big cities have developed a greater craving for connection. The World Economic Forum found that loneliness can lead to mental and physical health issues, such as depression, alcoholism, cognitive decline and heart disease — noting the stark reality that 45% of people in the UK feel lonely [1]. It’s no surprise, then, that a café built around the concept of creating a sense of community has quickly gained popularity.

Where do you source your famous coffee?

O: Neighbourhood Café has a close partnership with Calendar Coffee, sourced from Galway — we’re probably owner Zarah’s biggest customers. Calendar Coffee is internationally acclaimed and was ranked as the third-best coffee roastery globally in 2023. We have the attitude of “know your farmers”, and we get our coffee from the same farmers every year.

The quality of Neighbourhood’s coffee is central to the entire establishment. They invest in more expensive beans, as quality is not something they are willing to compromise on. Their coffee consists of seasonal beans that are consumed within two months of being harvested, rather than spending years sitting in a warehouse — which is often the case in major coffee chains.

Even if you’re not a coffee fanatic like myself, you’re more than welcome to enjoy a variety of teas, juices or even an elevated brunch at Neighbourhood Café. They take pride in their signature drinks — hot chocolate with toasted marshmallow fluff, a honeybun latte infused with local Irish honey, and their refreshing strawberry and rhubarb soda. And it would be a crime to forget their pride and joys — homemade tiramisù and espresso soft-serve.

This commitment to high-quality, locally sourced and creative food and drink further separates Neighbourhood from other establishments.

What distinguishes your coffee from major chains?

O: We try to have the best coffee in Belfast. You won’t find better food, coffee, service or design elsewhere.

The Neighbourhood staff are extremely well educated in all things coffee — quality is key at Neighbourhood Café. Although the quality is far above the average brew, the major difference is that these drinks are made with love. You feel like more than a customer at Neighbourhood — you feel like an important part of the establishment; the neighbourhood, if you will.

In cities where traditional community spaces have faded, Neighbourhood is doing more than just serving coffee — it’s sparking a much-needed revival of social connection in Belfast. Oisín and his team have created a space that not only offers quality food and drink but also fosters the sense of a small community. In a world of growing disconnection, it’s clear that Belfast didn’t just welcome a café like this — it had been waiting for one.

Sources:

[1] Riccobono, F. (2021). Survey: 66% of Consumers Prefer Starbucks to Their Local Coffee Shop. [online] Medium. Available at: https://premisedata.medium.com/survey-66-of-consumers-prefer-starbucks-to-their-local-coffee-shop-759becb9900b.