"Keep the human interactions alive": Horsham defends its coffee shops

When a new coffee shop opens in Horsham, there's a running joke: "Oh good, just what we needed." We've all heard it, and some of us have said it. So we put the question to you directly: does Horsham have too many coffee shops?

We started with our own view. We don't think it does, and Georgie at Chococo put it better than we could:

"In this modern world where most social interactions are behind a screen, it's so important to have these cafés where you can socialise with anyone and everyone and support your local community. I love my customers at Chococo and don't see a new coffee shop as a threat. Keep the human interactions alive!"

That's a coffee shop welcoming more coffee shops. It's worth sitting with that for a moment. Then you had your say, and almost everyone agreed.

If they're full, there aren't too many

The simplest argument came up again and again. One reader summed it up in a single line: "If they are all busy then there is obviously not too many." Another said most of the town's cafés are "busy and thriving", and a third pointed out that on a Saturday most of them are full.

One long-time resident took the long view. In the 1980s, they said, Horsham had about a dozen jeans shops. Another remembered the building societies and shoe shops of forty years ago. Those numbers fell as habits changed, and they expect the same of coffee shops one day. The high street has always followed what people actually do. Right now, what people do is meet for coffee.

Nobody decides what opens

Another reader tackled the other half of the complaint: the wish list. "We need a Primark." "We need a McDonald's." "We need a B&M." As they put it, people talk as if a committee picks which shops go where. It doesn't. Businesses choose whether to apply, and, as far as they knew, none of those names had.

Another commenter agreed, and added the practical problem: many town-centre units are simply too small for a big clothing chain or fast-food outlet. Why would Primark come here when Crawley already has one? Even JD Sports closed. Their advice to anyone who wants a different kind of shop was blunt: open one.

The same reader also offered the line we liked most: coffee shops are the daytime version of pubs. Horsham has plenty of pubs too, and nobody says that's a problem. Eating and drinking together is how people socialise.

The alternative is an empty window

One reader has visited several towns in recent years with rows of empty premises. A busy café, they said, at least means a shop is occupied. Another added that it also means jobs. One commenter called Horsham "thriving" next to towns with "dilapidated centres", and another would take a café over another vape shop any day.

One reader made the point that settles it for us: you can't buy a coffee and a slice of cake online. Clothes, books and electronics have all drifted onto screens. Sitting down with someone hasn't, and it can't.

Not quite unanimous

To be fair, not everyone was won over. One reader agreed about the human side but still thinks we have too many coffee shops, restaurants, charity shops and barbers. Their real grievance? About ten of each, "and yet only ONE functioning car wash".

Our view

Horsham's coffee shops aren't a sign of a town short on ideas. They're a sign of a town where people still come into the centre to meet each other, and where landlords can fill units with businesses that pay staff and pay rent. That's what many high streets would give a lot to have.

So the next time a new café opens, maybe skip the eye-roll. Go in, try it, and say hello to whoever is behind the counter. As Georgie said: keep the human interactions alive.

Article Tags: #chococo #eatinganddrinking #cafesandcoffeeshops