Spotlight On: Independent Sheffield

For a whole decade now, Independent Sheffield has been empowering hard-working indies in the Steel City – and offering us some cracking discounts in the process! We popped a party hat on owner Kerre Chen and asked her to wax lyrical about this wonderful local institution.

10 years of Independent Sheffield, eh? Hasn’t time flown! How will you be celebrating this milestone?
Mad isn’t it?! We’re thinking a big giveaway on social media to win some freebies from local independent businesses, maybe a treasure hunt of some sort, which will involve people visiting venues to win something, and potentially an event to mark the occasion! We would love to host an Independent Sheffield festival with lots of indie street food traders and other stalls. Give us a follow on socials for updates on what we do!

Yee Kwan, the entrepreneur behind award-winning local business Yee Kwan Ice Cream, proudly displays the latest Independent Sheffield discount cards. 

For those not in the know, could you tell us what you’re all about? 
Simply put, we’re on a mission to spotlight the lesser-known treasures and the best-kept secrets. Each place we feature has a story, a charm, and that distinct Sheffield spirit. It’s not just about discovering the next best eatery or that hidden boutique. We’re all about celebrating what truly makes our city shine: local independent makers, shakers and creators. Those unique spots that make you feel right at home, just like a comforting Yorkshire brew on a brisk day.

From delightful shops, charming coffee houses and standout restaurants to the finest salons, lively bars and snazzy fitness studios – Sheffield has it all. And we’re doing our best to spread the word, so these gems shine brighter than the big corporate chains.

We do this by sharing their inspiring stories on our website and socials. And with our Independent Sheffield card, you get the chance to enjoy exclusive discounts and offers city-wide. It’s a win-win: you save, and you support our local heroes. We get a different local artist to design the card each year and the talented Kid Acne designed our latest one!

The Independent Sheffield card unlocks a variety of lucrative savings at many of the city’s most popular hotspots.

Personally, who are some of your favourite indie businesses in Sheff?
Ooh that’s a toughie; there are SO many to choose from” At the moment I’m enjoying Bench, Orange Bird, Joro, Rafters, Guyshi, Roku, Hash House, Hungry Buddha and the place that does handpulled noodles opposite One Four One bar on West Street – it doesn’t have an English name and looks rough ‘n’ ready, but those are the best kind of places! For coffee, I love Husk, Kilnfolk and Mow’s. Crumb is my fave bakery and Yee Kwan Ice Cream makes delicious East Asian flavours. I realise they are all food & drink, but that’s all I do (I’m also a food blogger on Instagram – @theinsatiablefoodie). Oh, and Annie Jude’s is a lovely little gift shop in Hillsborough full of small business talent.
What offers would you say are your most popular at the moment?

I reckon the 10% off Pom Kitchen gets used a fair bit, 10% off Grazie is also a good’un. You can also get 20% off games at Clubhouse, 10% off Lovely Rita’s Bakehouse, 10% off Oisoi, 15% off Barrowboy, Buy One Get One Free comedy nights at The Leadmill and loads more. There are almost a hundred venues listed so far and the card will last you an entire year!

What are your hopes and aims for the future?
As mentioned, I would love to organise an Independent Sheffield festival amongst other fun events. We want to add more content to the website, get lots more indie businesses on board, build an app, grow our following and generally just get everybody talking about us! Cheers to 10 more years!

independent-sheffield.co.uk // @indpndntshef