Nestled on a bustling stretch of Chesterfield Road, Mandala Café has proved hugely popular since opening in 2022. Demand has been so high, in fact, that they recently expanded into the former Bhaji Shack unit next door, doubling their capacity.
From the very beginning, the café has cultivated a reputation as a safe, inclusive, and friendly space for people to hang out, largely thanks to the welcoming and bubbly personality of owner Adam Heyes.
Adam long dreamed of opening his own café, and as a kid coming of age in the ‘90s, he grew up like most of us watching an impossibly hot group of mates lounging about a cool Manhattan coffee shop on TV. Unlike most of us, though, I guess he saw himself more in the Gunther role rather than Chandler or Joey in his own version of Central Perk!
Adam even had a name in mind for when he eventually opened his dream café. From being 14 years old, he has loved mandalas, the Buddhist symbols of devotion that often depict patterns of concentric circles, so it felt only natural that this would be the name of the Chesterfield Road café.
Aside from a couple of remaining touches (as we chat, Adam’s partner drops off a new, beautifully kitsch lamp, and there’s a piano coming soon), the expansion is virtually complete, and you know what? The vibe is sort of reminiscent of Central Perk! Only if Central Perk had been set in Adam’s living room!
As well as looking the part, Mandala serves up great coffee, beautiful bakes, and a small menu of meaty, veggie, vegan, and gluten-free options from 9 am – 2 pm every day.
They are also already home to a number of evening events, and thanks to the expansion, Adam plans to host even more of his open mic nights, LGBTQ+ events, and pretty much anything anyone wants to use the space for after hours. “It’s been more than just a café,” says Adam. “We’ve been called a safe place, an events space, and a community hub, and I just think that’s good. I wasn’t expecting that in the beginning.
“I’ve become the emotional support barista, and I love it. I think that’s my job. I spent my life wishing I had a café, but instead, I ended up getting an office job, being crap at that, getting fired from that, and not really loving anything. Now, I’m here doing this, and it seems like I’m right where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to do.
“It’s been so nice to see this place expand and be busy. People keep posting, tagging, and sharing things, and I’ve made so many friends through this place. I get people’s kids drawing pictures for me and stuff; it’s just really sweet. I never saw any of that coming.”
“I’ve become the emotional support barista, and I love it.”
Prior to opening Mandala, Adam set up the Pop-Up Sarnie shop on Abbeydale Road through the lockdowns, but when that ended abruptly, he was left without a plan and a lack of funding to get something new off the ground. He spoke to friends who advised him to ask for help, so he set about crowdfunding to help get Mandala up and running.
Adam said: “When the shop shut, I didn’t really know what to do because suddenly I was like, I’ve got no money, I can’t start again, how do I do this?
“Everyone told me to try crowdfunding because everybody wanted me to succeed. People said, ‘You’ve been through lockdown and supported everybody through that, why don’t you try it?’ So I did a GoFundMe and I got a bit of money together from people, which just helped me figure things out. You just have to not be afraid to ask for help. I’m only really here because of other people, and I try to keep that in mind every day.”
When the opportunity to expand came in May this year, Adam again looked to crowdfunding to help undertake the massive renovations needed, and with the community’s support, around three weeks ago the space reopened. “Expanding just made sense,” says Adam. “Everything was completed in three weeks! We had the doors knocked through and the walls knocked out, so everything’s changed and it’s bigger and better.
“It’s been more than just a café”
“As soon as we opened, we were twice as busy, which I knew would happen because we were at a place where people were coming in but having to walk back out because there was no space, which was making me sad. We needed more space, but I didn’t want to lose the vibe. I wanted people to still feel like they’re in my living room. I used to work at Starbucks and Costa years ago, and I remember thinking it’s so clinical, and everything’s the same, whereas here it’s just like, ‘hey, you’re at Joey’s’.”
There’s that Friends reference again.
As things settle down in the new space, Adam’s plan is to be there for you with a new food menu, which will include the bhajis and samosas of former inhabitants, keeping their torch burning, as well as hosting more and more nights. “It’s been great. Overwhelming is the word, really,” says Adam. “I sometimes feel like I’m playing the game of running a café, and I know people that have done it for years. I forget that I am actually one of those people now!
“I’ve gone through every emotion with this place. It’s mine, and I’ve made it the way it is, and I love it, but I forget to love it sometimes because I’m just in it all the time. Even talking about it now, it makes me so proud!”
You can find Mandala Café at 87 Chesterfield Road and on social @mandalasheffield.
