Entrepreneur finds her lockdown calling with phone box coffee kiosk

An entrepreneur has found her calling during the Covid-19 pandemic after turning a red phone box into a mini coffee kiosk.

Lily Deluca purchased the booth on Tunsgate in Guildford, Surrey, last year before opening her new business, Lily London, in December.

Having previously been involved in exporting coffee from Brazil to the UK, she said she decided to use her knowledge “to do something different” during lockdown.

And now she plans to open another near the Shard in central London and one in Hampstead High Street in the north of the capital in the coming weeks.

Ms Deluca, from Wimbledon in south-west London, told the PA news agency: “I am an exporter of coffee from Brazil and because of the lockdown I thought I would do something different, but of course related to coffee, because I know the industry.

“I also knew these telephone boxes are being removed, so I thought I would combine the two.”

Ms Deluca runs the kiosk with barista Achilleas Papakitsos, 30, who is originally from Greece but lives in Guildford.

The coffee machine is housed inside the kiosk, while drinks are served to customers from a table outside.

“Business has been very good since December,” Ms Deluca said.

“So much so that my coffee machine has been failing a little bit because we are selling too many coffees, so I have to upgrade it.”

The red phone boxes can be purchased for more than £2,700 from a BT-approved reseller.