Just over five years ago, Dan Roiser and Matthew Rees left the Handle Bar Cafe and Kitchen in St Michael’s Street and set up their own business in the Cowley Road.
Mr Roiser, 38, who cycles to work from his home in Kennington, wanted to provide a natural home for cyclists stopping off for some coffee and cake.
It has proved a popular move, and there are lots of workers and residents who have become regulars at Peloton Espresso cafe.
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Mr Rees has relocated to Edinburgh, but is still involved with the business.
Mr Roiser, who lives with partner Morwenna and cat Rufus, said the cafe stayed open to serve takeaways throughout the coronavirus lockdowns when some rivals did not, and this helped to build a loyal customer base.
The cafe owner said: “I have a team of about eight staff and a great manager Bella and we love serving coffee and cake and listening to customers who tell us about their lives.
“We know at least 30 regular customers by name and we know their orders - I think that’s a nice thing to be able to do.
“We love espresso and I would say we are one of the fastest coffee shops around.”
Prices are competitive - it’s £2.80 for a slice of vegan banana bread and £2.20 for an Americano. A flat white is £2.70.
The cafe doesn’t offer a student discount but it does offer local workers a discount they can get a drink for £2.
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Mr Roiser added: “Our philosophy is make nice coffee and be nice to people - if you can do these two things you should have a successful enterprise.
“We really enjoy helping people out and making delicious beverages and we do all our baking in-house - Lisa Russell is our baker.”
The cafe has about 20 seats inside and a decked area at the back which seats about 15 customers.
Then there is room for a few more tables and chairs out the front.
Banana bread is a popular order and can be toasted and served with butter or peanut butter.
Seven different flavours of doughnuts are delivered from Swindon for doughnut Thursdays, while the coffee comes from Routs in Cowley.
“We are keen for people to try different coffees from around the world,” Mr Roiser added, “although we didn’t want the cafe to have a coffee theme.
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“Cyclists come here and they can pop their bikes in the back.
“I enjoy cycling - I do drive but I much prefer to cycle - it’s good exercise and it’s part of my daily routine.
“It takes me about 20 minutes to get from Kennington to the cafe and there’s a nice wide towpath now for cyclists.”
For more visit facebook.com/pelotonespresso.
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