EP63 Toby Davison | Coffee, Cost and Culture | Local Heroes Podcast

This week on the Local Heroes Podcast, we’re joined by Toby Davison, the man behind North Shore Coffee, one of the North East’s fastest-growing specialty coffee brands.

From selling coffee on the Quayside with a small setup to building a multi-site business with cafés, vans, and a roastery, this is a story of graft, instinct, and backing yourself when there’s no clear plan.

We get into how it all started, from New Zealand inspiration to COVID survival mode, where Toby took a coffee van into local communities and accidentally built the foundations of a serious business.

The conversation digs into the reality of running a coffee company in 2026 — rising costs, tight margins, staffing pressures, and why being busy doesn’t always mean being profitable. Toby breaks down the numbers, the mindset shift from passion to business, and why understanding your margins is now everything.

We also get into the evolution of coffee culture, from flat whites to matcha madness, social media trends, viral videos and the shift away from nightlife towards coffee, fitness, and community-led experiences.

From dodgy cafetière attempts and coffee snobbery to Greggs orders, empire biscuit addiction, and the great curry vs gravy debate, plus stories of building a business on gut feeling, taking calculated risks, and learning to handle pressure when everything’s on the line.

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