Late last year we opened Brent Cross Town’s first new building, the Visitor Pavilion, incorporating a new café, alongside an exhibition space that showcases the vision for Brent Cross Town, its homes, workspaces, leisure, parks and public spaces. We are pleased to see that the Visitor Pavilion has already become a well-used space by the community.

Spruce & Larch is the popular new café and eatery that is serving the community within the Visitor Pavilion. As well as delicious coffee, fresh pastries and sandwiches the café has a vast collection of houseplants for sale in keeping with the environmentally friendly, timber-famed design of the new building. And it’s dog friendly, much to the delight of those that work there.

It is locally run too, in keeping with our pledge to support both new and existing communities and ensure that at least 20% of people working in Brent Cross Town are from Barnet or the local boroughs Camden and Brent.

We spoke to Willesden Green residents Dan and Aggy to find out more about working at Brent Cross Town’s first café.

General manager, Dan Welch, 25, is originally from South of Italy. He says what attracted him to the role was his love for coffee and plants, which fits the bill when it comes to the offering at Spruce & Larch.

He said: “Coffee shops are my thing for sure, I even have a coffee handle tattooed on my left arm.”

“My favourite part of the job is that I get to work with amazing people and meet tons of nice locals and their dogs.”

“It’s a nice atmosphere, nice plants, delicious food and amazing coffee.” He added.

Spruce & Larch’s star Barista, Agatha Souza, or Aggy as she is warmly known, is 23 and originally from Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Aggy grew up in the area and went to the nearby Whitefield’s School, which will be redeveloped as part of the Brent Cross Town project. As well as ‘the good memories’ working at Spruce & Larch brings back for Aggy, she said she was attracted to the job because of the café’s unusual concept of being a coffee shop that also sells plants and their favourite part of the job? “Looking after the plants and meeting the doggies!!”

Spruce & Larch is open every day from 9am to 5pm at The Visitor Pavilion, Claremont Way.