Operating from a hole-in-the-wall unit in Manchester’s vibrant Ancoats neighbourhood, family-owned Cuppello’s coffee shop has quickly found its voice in a city wealthy with speciality coffee. Inside, clean white walls proudly display a small selection of owner Harry’s vast New Era 59FIFTY collection, providing this no-nonsense establishment with a niche that certainly caught our attention. 

As Home Grown and New Era’s collaborative collection hits the shelves, we caught up with Harry to talk all things coffee, caps, and beyond. Here’s how it went. 

Tell us about the Cuppello’s journey, from Lymm to Ancoats?

“It was a big step from a small village in Warrington, but I was supplying a friend with coffee for his barbershop. He has the full setup with a big machine, so I’d suggested he should open as a coffee shop as well, to which he said no…. But he offered me the unit next to his barbershop, which he had as well, to open up our second Capello’s. So I went for it, and here we are a year later.”

As siblings, did you always dream of running a business together?

“No, I’ll be honest. As a Big Brother, you kind of get used to having to share everything you have, like your brother always wants a bite of your food or whatever, so I never imagined doing business with him. As we’ve grown older, we’ve become closer and stopped arguing. Frankie brings a lot to the table, and right now, he’s in Australia… So, yeah, I couldn’t have imagined it, but I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

You mentioned Frankie is in Australia, is that a hint of something to come down there?

“Potentially, yeah. He’s doing the groundwork at the minute, getting a lay of the land. It’s a hub for coffee, so there’s a lot to learn out there – like stepping from a village into Manchester, we’re surrounded by great coffee shops, so you just learn a lot from being in the environment through the customers and what they expect. So, I imagine that stepping into Australia and the market they have there would take us up another notch for sure.”

We’ve noticed your eclectic collection of baseball caps on the walls, can you tell us the story behind these?

“Yeah. So I used to collect them as a kid. I used to save up my spends or whatever money I could get from doing bits and bobs, and progressively build up my collection of baseball caps, hockey caps, everything… I was obsessed with American culture. Now, I’ve just got a massive collection. So when I opened the shop, the walls were a bit bare, and they ended up taking my hats. It’s become part of the brand now, really.”

How many baseball caps do you have in your collection, roughly?

“Everywhere I go, I get a cap. So when I go on holiday, if I go to a new place and there’s a cap store, I’ll try and get something. I always pick them up. So I’d say 100 or so now. Yeah, it’s ridiculous. My girlfriend thinks it’s mad.”

What’s your favourite piece from the Home Grown x New Era collection?

“This (MLB Knitted Zip Up). This is actually my favourite piece. I love it, it’s class. Then probably the MLB Hoodie, the brown one and the 9TWENTY caps. I’m not used to this shape, I usually go for a different style, but yeah, they’re probably my top three.”

Is there more Cuppello’s merch and collaborations coming in the future?

“There is. We’ve got a lot of stuff in the pipeline. We’ve got a few things we’re working on. We’re just trying to make sure that, like our coffee, it’s spot on. So, we want to be sure that we’re sourcing from the right places and getting the quality right.”

Which of these has to go – New Era’s 59FIFTY or 9TWENTY?

“I’m going to have to keep the 59FIFTY just because I’ve always collected them, and I love the whole process of curving the brim and getting the right size. Yeah, snapbacks are easier from a collector’s point of view. I’ve got to go with the 59FIFTY.”

So you’ve been open a year now, what’s been your highlight since opening Ancoats Cuppello’s in 2024?

“When we got the first DM about this collaboration, that was a bit of a high point for me and a full circle moment because we’ve always had the caps on the walls, and I’ve always been a fan. When I got the DM, I couldn’t really believe that we were in the picture for stuff like that. It was something I pictured much further down the line. So yeah, that was definitely a high point for me.”

If you like what you see, the Home Grown x New Era collection is now available online and in-store at size?. If you like what you read, head over to our blog for more interviews and exclusive insights.