Football memorabilia and a cracking coffee were in store as we visited this England legend’s coffee house
England football legend Jill Scott runs the Boxx2Boxx cafe in Northenden – and plenty of other England stars have visited including Jamie Redknapp, pictured with Jill’s partner Shelly(Image: Boxx2Boxx/Instagram: @boxx2boxxcoffee)
There’s quite a history of footballers turning their hands to hospitality here in Greater Manchester. We’ve had the likes of Rio Ferdinand’s take on Italian at Rosso to Pep Guardiola’s taste of home with Spanish Tast Catala, although both of those venues are now sadly confined to the mists of time.
Meanwhile Reds legends Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs continue their relentless drive to open more and more hospitality venues in the city – including at their hotels Stock Exchange and Hotel Football.
However, out in the suburbs we have an England World Cup hero quietly serving up some of the best coffee in the entire region. I say this having headed out to Northenden to savour some for myself this week.
Yes, I’m at Boxx2Boxx, the coffee shop launched by former England Lioness Jill Scott MBE and her partner Shelly Unitt. They first opened their cafe on Palatine Road in 2021, but it was such a hit that they soon needed to expand.
Thankfully for the residents of Northenden, they were able to move just a few doors down the road to do just that. As I head along on a rainy Tuesday morning, the first thing that grabs my attention is the sign outside.
Boxx2Boxx on Palatine Road, Northenden(Image: MEN)
“Coffee and a pastry for £5” it says. BOTH? For £5? Blimey you can certainly net a bargain in this place that’s for sure. I mean, you don’t seem to get much change from a fiver just for a coffee in a lot of places in the city centre nowadays.
You don’t have to be a football fan to head here, but my goodness, it certainly offers you up some further treats aside from the food and drink if you are. There’s lots of footy memorabilia and sporting inspo on the walls, including a framed England shirt, and you can even grab an inspirational book by a Lioness star to have a read of on the way in.
And hey, you might even bump into a football legend while you’re here too if the wall filled with polaroids of previous famous faces who’ve visited is anything to go by.
They’ve welcomed in the likes of Jamie Redknapp, Ian Wright, Ella Toone, Steph Houghton, and I even spy Coronation Street star Andy Whyment up there on the wall of fame.
England legend Ian Wright pictured at Boxx 2 Boxx cafe with Lioness Jill Scott and Shelly Unitt(Image: Instagram/@Boxx2Boxx)
It’s a lovely, bright and stylish space, and I nestle into a seat where a row of portraits of Lioness legends are displayed. These are not mere headshots though – oh no these all include inspirational info about each player and make you feel fired up ready to take on life after reading them.
I had hoped to give the £5 pastry and coffee deal a whirl, but unluckily for me I was too late – the offer runs until 11am on weekdays, and I’d got there at 11.30am, dammit.
“You have to be quick, they sold out this morning as well,” the cheery waitress informs me.
I’m not surprised looking at the pictures of them on social media – they get their pastries from acclaimed bakery La Chouquette in Didsbury and I know how good they are. The offer is running for the rest of January so there’s still time to go back though I figured.
Any regular pastry and coffee for £5 is a right bargain(Image: MEN)
I satisfied myself instead with a flat white – still a bargain if you ask me at its regular price of £3.40. It arrived in a lovely black crockery cup and saucer, and it was just about as perfect a flat white as you can get.
I happily supped it up, pondering if I might get a sighting of Jill herself while I was sat here, although that was not to be. I took consolation instead that I was right next to a magnificent mural of Jill on the wall in her playing days.
If you miss out on the pastry deal like I did, there’s also an array of reasonably-priced breakfast options on the menu, like crumpets or tea cakes for £4, scrambled egg on sourdough toast for £7.
Or you could go for a full on Boxx Breakfast (veggie and non-veggie versions) for £10.95. They also have daily changing sandwich specials at lunchtime, as well as a stocked cabinet with cakes and sweet treats.
Jill, who also won I’m a Celebrity in 2022, has spoken passionately about having this place become an important part for the local community. Since opening, the coffee shop has connected people through events like sticker swaps, open mic nights, and after-club coffee sessions.
A mural of Jill and portraits of Lionesses adorn the walls at Boxx2Boxx(Image: MEN)
Speaking to the MEN at the time of the relaunch, Jill and Shelly spoke of how determined they were to stay in Northenden when they realised they needed a bigger location.
Shelly said: “It feels like home here and it’s just a wonderful community. We wanted to stay so when the opportunity came up for a bigger space on the same road, we just took it with both hands really.
“We’ve had people from as far as Australia and Hong Kong visit us. “It’s brilliant that people want to travel that far to see us. Jill’s in the shop quite a lot – it’s not like we just have a shop in our names, we often work here too.
“Me and Jill aren’t snobby people but one of the things we are snobby about is good coffee. It wasn’t just about us having a coffee shop, it was making sure every detail was right and thankfully, people really do like our coffee.”
My coffee with a Lioness(Image: MEN)
Now, having experienced it for myself, I can see they have totally hit the back of the net with this place.
Boxx2Boxx is on 399 Palatine Road, Northenden, Wythenshawe, M22 4JS. Open 9am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.