The Sleeper Store
Bagel shop ‘Sleeper’ thrives in St Leonards with help from CHART
Along the bustling Kings Road in St Leonards, you might have noticed a new addition to the high street. An unassuming shop front, with luxurious upholstered furniture in the window, decorative (fake!) seagulls hanging from the ceiling, and mouth watering bagels in the back. This is the home of Sleeper bagels.
Nick and Jane from Sleeper have always had an interest in cooking, and were inspired by food vendors in the likes of Brick Lane and wanted to replicate something like it closer to home. Sleepers is currently open 3 days a week serving the lunch crowds, and when it’s not open serving bagels it’s the home to Charlotte Smith Upholstery, where she makes and takes orders for her business of furniture upholstery, with her products artfully displayed in the shop window.
Under the CHART* programme, Nick and Jane received support from business manager Rupert Kirby at Let’s Do Business Group; where they were able to benefit from free advice and support in the lead up to opening their doors to the public.
“Rupert was fantastic. He came to visit us several times, and he gave us lists of things to do that we hadn’t thought of. I think going into it we were quite naive and thought we’d just ‘open a shop’. He helped us stay motivated and on top of preparing to open by giving us lists of things to get done, and showing us what to do and where. We felt supported all the way through.”
Mouthwatering combinations: photo credit Photolotte
“We’re really enjoying it, the first few weeks were always destined to be manic but we’ve got used to it now. We open up 3 days a week and only cook limited batches depending on how busy we expect it to be, and we’ve sold out everyday.”
Before Sleeper, Nick and Jane were designers by trade; involved with various businesses, prominent publishers, becoming instrumental with illustrations of cookbooks and the like.
They purchased the store in Kings Road just before the first lockdown in 2020 before they had even come up with the idea of Sleepers. Hailing from Staplecross, they loved the scene in St Leonards and Hastings and the quirky nature of new shops and restaurants popping up in the area.
When asked ‘why bagels’ and what had led them to Sleeper, their knowledge of the town and surrounding area shone through. “There was nothing else like it in the area, and bagels are so diverse - there’s a combination for everyone.”
The welcoming Sleeper store: photo credit Steve Smith
They don’t claim that their process for making the bagels is revolutionary - but they’re passionate about doing it well. Their menu isn’t extremely long, which means they can focus on their core bagel fillings and doing them extremely well with top notch ingredients, with already having cultivated following from the local area.
“We don’t aim for it to be different from other bagel makers exactly, we just want to do what we do and do it very well. There’s nowhere else in the area that does the same as us, so that’s our edge!”
They’re all about keeping things local and as a result, very fresh - with most of their ingredients coming from nearby producers, like their Beansmitten Coffee from Lamberhurst, delicious cheeses from Cheese on Sea, salt beef from PigSmith in Bodiam, and crisps and canned drinks from other local suppliers too.
Their bagels and ingredients have proven so popular that they have returning customers who visit to seek out their salt beef bagels as their lunchtime staple. Since opening in the Autumn of last year, they’ve sold out of their batches of bagels everyday.
Special salt beef from PigSmith in Bodiam. Photo credit: Steve Smith
Jane loves coming up with new combinations like the sweet bagels and ‘bagel bombs’, such as their new chocolate orange bagel in time for Christmas, but she says it’s hard to pick a favourite. Nick sways more towards the salt beef, and from its popularity we can’t say we blame him.
As for the future, the Sleeper team hope to eventually make the space multi-use and make use of the time when they’re not open and serving up bagels.
“Since we’re only open 3 days a week in the mornings and afternoons that leaves a lot of time for other local businesses to potentially use the space. Charlotte already uses the back of the shop for her upholstery business, and we quite like the idea of pairing with local artists to display their art.”
