Anthony Grice owns Fika – a café with a twist
Anthony Grice, founder of Fika(Image: Liverpool Echo)
In Woolton, there’s a café where strangers are encouraged to sit together, make friends and talk about anything except work. It’s called Fika, and for owner Anthony Grice, it’s more than a name – it’s a way of life.
Anthony explains: “The word ‘fika’ means coffee break, but it’s a lot more than that. It’s about slowing down, stepping away from the rush of life, and connecting with people.”
The 45-year-old, from Liverpool, discovered the tradition while living in Sweden. He had opened a restaurant there and was caught off guard one afternoon when it suddenly filled with people around midday.
He said: “Tons of people started coming in. I started flapping it and I was like: ‘Whoa! We won’t be able to cater for these numbers in the kitchen’. Then my partner said that they were just coming in for fika.
“I said: ‘What the hell is fika?’ They said: ‘Watch what happens’.
“People will just get a cinnamon bun or a cup of coffee, and sit down on a table with a random stranger. They’ll introduce themselves – there’s an unwritten rule that you don’t talk about work – and, basically, people will just connect, have a chit-chat for 15 minutes, and then get on with their day.
“The next day, you’ll see the same faces coming in, but they’ll go and sit on a table with someone else. By the end of the week, everyone knows everyone and it’s a boss atmosphere.
“I thought it was a great idea to bring the community together, especially these days where we’re more connected than we’ve ever been, yet we’re so disconnected with human interaction. It’s why a lot of people are struggling with their mental health.”
Anthony brought the idea back to Liverpool and opened Fika in Woolton nearly eight years ago. There’s now a second branch on Queen’s Dock, but the original remains the heart of the concept.
Anthony said: “If Fika was going to work anywhere else, it’d be Liverpool. Scousers will chat to anyone.”
Anthony Grice at Fika(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Inside Fika, the room is small and the tables are close together. There are also communal tables designed to get people talking. Anthony added: “You don’t even need money to come in. We’ve got free coffees for anyone who’s short of cash or is just having a bad day. You can just take free coffee off the board which has already been paid for by someone. It’s a safe space.”
At first, Anthony tried to bring Swedish cuisine to the menu – herring, smørbrøds, and Scandinavian cakes. But it didn’t take off.
He said: “No one wanted it. People were coming in and just wanted bacon on toast.
“I was baking all these cakes that were taking three or four hours to bake. They’d be sitting there for a couple of days and the next minute they’d have to go in the bin.
“Then one day, a girl who worked for me saw a picture of a chocolate brownie on Instagram. She showed me and said: ‘Wow! Look at this’. I said that it was just a chocolate brownie. She asked me if I could make it and I said: ‘With my eyes closed’.
“I didn’t really want to go down that road because it wasn’t Swedish but I made it and within five minutes, the entire slate was gone. The next day, I did more, and realised that people wanted flavours which they could relate to more.
“We had to adapt to the British palate, basically. The only thing that we do now that’s Scandinavian is cinnamon buns, which are one of our biggest sellers and are made fresh every day.”
In a city already known for its warmth, Anthony says Fika is all about “bringing the community together, taking time out and making new friends.” The café can be found at 131 Woolton Road, Woolton, or its city centre venue can be visited at Queens Dock, 110 Mariners Wharf.