As Federal Café and Bar celebrates its 10th anniversary, we’re reflecting on a decade of amazing coffee, great service, and a true sense of community. In this chat, Vanessa, our Head of Wholesale at Ozone Coffee, sat down with Claudio, the owner of Federal, to talk about how far the café’s come since the very beginning. From balancing a full-time job with running a café to overcoming the ups and downs of growing a business, it’s been an incredible journey.
We’ve had the privilege of not just supplying Federal with high-quality coffee over the years, but also supporting Claudio every step of the way. It’s been amazing to watch Federal grow from day one, and we’re proud to have been part of their journey. In this interview, Claudio shares what’s kept him going, the lessons he’s learned, and what’s next for Federal as they step into the next decade. Here’s to 10 years of success—and many more to come!
Vanessa: What inspired you to start Federal a decade ago?
Claudio: My love for hospitality, I was working in a hotel at the time. I just wanted to create a neighbourhood café that offered high-quality coffee, delicious food, and outstanding service. During my travels in Australia, I discovered that this concept was thriving there, and I wanted to bring that same experience to Manchester.
Our mission has always been to make everyone’s day better, and I believe we’ve been achieving that since day one.
V: What made Manchester the ideal location for Federal? Was there a defining moment when you knew the cafes had a unique place in your community?
C: I think Manchester, with its diversity and the way it embraces independent businesses, was the perfect fit for Federal. The neighbourhood feel we create at Federal has been really well received in Manchester, and I think I truly realised we had a place in the community when I started seeing queues out the door.
Our mission of making everyone’s day better has been central to everything we do. Seeing people queueing to visit one of our cafés made all the difference, and I believe Manchester is the perfect city for that.
V: Looking back, what were some of the most significant challenges you faced in those early days?
C: I think it was creating awareness about Federal—who we were and what our mission was. Also, trying to manage a full-time job at the same time as opening Federal was massive. I’d be going to work, then coming here, back to work, then back here—it was a lot.
Finding suppliers was another big one. I’d go to meetings, telling people what we were planning to do, and not everyone believed we could pull it off. Not everyone was as supportive as Ozone was, so that made it harder too. And then there were all the usual small business challenges—equipment breaking down halfway through service, for example. When you don’t have much money to get engineers in to fix it, those moments are tough.
But honestly, all those challenges made us better. We learned from them, and that’s what helped us open one site after another. Now, we’re a bit more successful than when we started, and those tough times really shaped who we are.
V: How has Federal grown and evolved over the years, and what future goals do you have for the business?
C: Federal has grown from a single site to three locations in the city centre of Manchester, plus a small coffee cart at Altrincham Market. Where do I see the brand going? I’m opening another site in Manchester in the new year, and I’m also planning to open a site outside Manchester in the first half of next year.
I believe the brand is ready to expand into another city, and I’m excited to see how it works and how successful we can be. With our ethos and mission of making everyone’s day better, I’m confident we can replicate that in every town we enter.
V: What initially attracted you to working with Ozone, and what has kept our partnership strong?
C: What attracted me to Ozone was that we share many of the same values: sustainability, diversity, and quality. The coffee Ozone provides us with every week is incredible, and I think we’re known for the quality of our coffee, which was one of the main reasons I was drawn to you. The values of our companies align very well, and the support I’ve received from Ozone since day one has really stood out to me.
In fact, I’ve only worked with two suppliers in the ten years since we opened, and Ozone is one of them. I think that speaks volumes about the strong support Ozone has given me. So yes, I’m very happy with my coffee supply from Ozone.
V: What does celebrating a decade of Federal mean to you personally and professionally?
C: Celebrating ten years of Federal is a massive milestone for me personally. Seeing my vision of hospitality come to life ten years ago and still thriving today, with queues out the door at every site, is something I’m really proud of. Together with my team, we’ve achieved ten years of success, and that’s a huge accomplishment.
Professionally, it’s incredibly rewarding to see people make Federal part of their daily routines, changing what they used to do to come to our cafés. Over the years, I’ve made many friends who started as customers and have since become close close friends. I also have countless memorable moments tied to Federal, which makes it all the more special. I’m happy with how we’ve become an integral part of the neighbourhoods we’re in.
V: Are there any trends in the coffee or hospitality industry that particularly inspire or excite you right now?
C: Sustainability is a big one—not just for us, but for everyone on the planet, really. We’re already doing some things, but we want to do a lot more. It’s such an important focus for us.
The other big trend is innovation within the industry. All this new technology, like AI, is starting to become part of our daily lives, and I think it’ll find its way into cafés and restaurants too. We’re looking at how we can incorporate some of it into our day-to-day operations. I’m not talking about robots making coffee— that’s not really where we’re headed—but there are new machines and tools that could help us work more efficiently and provide even better service.
That said, I still think our industry will always stand apart from all that, because people still want those human interactions. They want to chat with the barista in the morning or talk to the waiter when their food is served. So, while I’m excited about sustainability and the innovation coming into the market, I believe the human connection will always be at the heart of what we do.