Esquires Coffee opens at Kingsgrove neighbourhood centre in Wantage

A new coffee shop serving cooked breakfasts, pastries and hot and cold drinks has opened at Kingsgrove in Wantage.

Esquires Coffee began trading on Wednesday 23 September, joining the Co-op and Little Pioneers Nursery and Pre-school at the neighbourhood centre on the eastern side of the town.

The café is open seven days a week, with an early start for customers from Monday to Saturday. It is independently owned and operated as part of the national Esquires franchise.

Simmi Arneja, one of the owners of Esquires Coffee Wantage, said:

“We are excited to have opened at Kingsgrove and to be part of the local community. Our aim is to create a warm and welcoming place where people can enjoy great coffee and food, whether they are meeting friends, having breakfast or simply stopping by during the day.

“The whole team is looking forward to welcoming our new neighbours.”

What is on the menu?

The Wantage café’s food offering includes a traditional English breakfast alongside pastries and other freshly prepared dishes. Coffee is served with a choice of other hot and cold drinks.

Esquires says all its coffee is organic and Fairtrade certified. Its wider menu includes vegetarian and vegan choices, with dairy alternatives available for drinks. The company also says it uses locally sourced ingredients where possible.

The opening announcement does not include menu prices or separate cooked-breakfast serving times, so customers planning a meal should check the local menu rather than assuming breakfast is available throughout the café’s opening hours.

Esquires was founded in 1993 and entered the UK market in 2000. The company says it now has more than 80 stores across the country, each independently owned and operated by a franchisee.

Another business joins Kingsgrove’s neighbourhood centre

Kingsgrove is being developed in phases, with around 1,500 homes planned. Alongside housing, the neighbourhood includes Wantage Primary Academy, green spaces, walking and cycling routes, play areas and sports facilities.

The coffee shop adds another business to the neighbourhood centre, where the Co-op and Little Pioneers nursery already operate.

Councillor Andrew Crawford, Vale of White Horse District Council’s cabinet member for property, housing and economic development, said:

“Alongside the Co-op and Little Pioneers Nursery and Pre-school, it gives local residents and the wider Wantage community even more reasons to visit, meet up and spend time locally.”

Tom Tracey, estate manager at Kingsgrove, said Esquires would add to the amenities available within walking distance of residents’ homes and provide another place for people to meet.

Work is also under way on a separate community hub, with plans for a multi-purpose hall, co-working space, meeting rooms, a café and outdoor gardens.

Visiting while community hub work takes place

The coffee shop is at Kingsgrove’s neighbourhood centre. Its Food Standards Agency business listing gives the address as 19 Daisy Lane, Wantage, OX12 7LP.

Visitors travelling by car should be aware of construction arrangements nearby. In an April 2026 update about the community hub, Kingsgrove said the public square and adjacent parking spaces would close during the building work to provide contractor parking and storage.

The update said pedestrians would still be able to use the pavements along Elder Way and Rutherford Road. Check current on-site signs rather than assuming parking beside the square is available.

That construction update outlined an intended opening for the community hub in early 2028. This is a planned timetable for the separate hub project, not an opening date for Esquires, which is already trading.

Further information about the neighbourhood and its facilities is available on the Kingsgrove website.