By Noah Roberts
A Farsley mum who lost her son to leukaemia has followed her dream to open a new coffee shop in his honour.
Cup19, on Bradford Road, Stanningley, is proving popular with coffee lovers – and with good reason.
The name Cup19 was chosen by Caroline Hardy in memory of her son Haris Hussain, who died aged 19 after a year-long fight against Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Haris was a promising young cricketer who had played for the Yorkshire under 16s.
After losing her son Caroline decided not to go back to midwifery. She moved from Sheffield to be with her partner – cricket coach Matt, who lives in Farsley.
The couple, looking for a lifestyle change, made the brave decision to go self employed and pursue a shared dream of opening a coffee shop. Their vision was to create a cosy, welcoming and safe space to rest, relax and meet friends.
Caroline said she wanted a space for coffee lovers who could enjoy a drink and not feel rushed. When the building, which had been Pop Along Café, became available, they began planning its renovation. Cup19 opened six months later on 19 January 2022.
For his 19th birthday Haris, a talented wicket keeper and batsman, raised over £20,000 for the charity DKMS UK, fighting against blood cancer. To continue his legacy his family created the HH 1843 Foundation to support teenagers affected by cancer, through sport.
The proceeds of the 19th cup sold every day are donated to the charity. It is served in a special white cup.
Caroline and Matt also employ Nikki, who lives in Swinnow. Matt’s daughter helps out at weekends and Caroline’s niece helped set up the social media when they first opened, so it’s been a real family and friends team effort making Cup19 successful.
More recently, Caroline called upon Master Chef of Great Britain member Simon Lilley, founder of Coghlans cookery school, to deliver a pop-up bistro night.
The bistro menu changes each time based upon seasonal foods and has proven so popular that renovations are now under way to expand into the upstairs of the building to meet demand.
Over the next few months Cup19 also hope this upstairs space will be a bookable space for people to host meetings or a co-work together. Waffle Wednesdays is popular with locals, especially families where the shop opens slightly later until 7.30pm you can get a drink and waffles or pancakes for £8.
Cup19 can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter by searching @cup19coffee.
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