The owner of a number of popular food businesses in Warwick says he wants to make Smith Street a "destination area" within the town, just a couple of months after launching a new pop-up chocolate shop. 

Stephen Burnett first opened the bread&co café in 2012 with his wife Michele, with the business quickly establishing itself as a local favourite.

The couple also run a bakery on a farm on the edge of Warwick, and have since expanded their greenbean eco refill shop to create Smith Street Collective, which now also stocks wares from a number of local independent businesses.

And at the end of 2023 the couple added to their already impressive portfolio, opening a pop up chocolate shop next to the café, called ME Chocolate.

Stephen outside bread&co on Smith Street (image via bread&co)

"What I am trying to do is create a destination area where we are to encourage people to discover, enjoy and support Smith Street," Stephen told Nub News. 

"Maybe you can call it Warwick's 'golden triangle' down on Smith Street. 

"That's what we really want to promote at the moment; there are so many great businesses down here."

Stephen and Michele - who first moved to the UK in 2008 from Australia and launched a coffee van business - actually bought the established Warwick based ME Chocolate brand in 2020 and now make the artisan chocolate on Smith Street.

With an existing strong online presence, the ME Chocolate range includes 18 different flavours of artisan chocolate, featuring flavours from coffee and walnut to lemon and sea salt.

Then in September they launched the pop up on Smith Street for the first time, opening on Fridays and Saturdays, and also stocking a range of other chocolates from Knowle-based business 1683 Chocolate Place.

ME Chocolate is open on Fridays and Saturdays (image via ME Chocolate)

The ME Chocolate range includes 18 different flavours of artisan chocolate (image via ME Chocolate)

"Stupidly we decided to take it over! The original ME Chocolate owner - who again was someone we had worked with - said he was selling, and he had a really good name already online, so we decided to go for it," Stephen explained. 

"And we also bring in chocolates from a professional chocolatier in Knowle called 1683 Chocolate Place.

"I was looking for another local range to stock in the shop, loved what they did and made them an offer.

"So now with the pop-up, people can come to the café and ask us to take them over, and then we are fully open on Fridays and Saturdays."

And after just three months of business, Stephen hopes to be able to expand the pop-up even further.

"We got it up and running in time for Christmas and it did very well," he added. 

"There is still a way to go, and we might widen the offer at the shop; not to become a sweet shop but to have an appeal all year round, rather than just being about specialty chocolate. 

"But it is still a work in progress."

Follow ME Chocolate, bread&co, greenbean and Smith Street Collective on social media.

Me Chocolate also stocks a selection of artisan chocolates from 1683 Chocolate Place in Knowle (image via ME Chocolate)

Stephen and Michele also run Smith Street Collective (image supplied)