Work under way on a café with a difference in Lichfield
A new venture in Lichfield will offer specialist valuations alongside delicious coffee and cake.
The Auction Café by Richard Winterton Auctioneers launches at a Grade II listed building in the heart of Lichfield later this year.
It will offer a bespoke environment with around 30 covers where people can enjoy speciality coffee, tea, cakes and savoury snacks alongside free valuations of jewellery and antiques.
The premises will also be a base to find out more about the world of auctions, valuations, probate services and house clearances.
The location – 34 to 36 Market Street – is just yards away from the very first office Wintertons opened in Breadmarket Street back in 1864.
This year marks the 160th anniversary of those beginnings and The Auction Café not only celebrates that milestone but ushers in new avenues for the future.
“We’re best known for putting items under the hammer but it will also be coffee and cakes over the counter when The Auction Café opens,” said auctioneer and managing director Richard Winterton.
“Lichfield is where it all started off for Wintertons, with our first office in Breadmarket Street back in 1864.
“So it’s wonderfully fitting in our 160th year to be bringing it all back home with this new venture just a few yards away in a Georgian building next to Samuel Johnson’s Birthplace.
“This will be a brilliant central location in Lichfield for people to come and have their jewellery, watches, silver and antiques valued whilst checking out a range of brilliant beverages and choice cakes.
“We’ll be revealing more about our plans in the coming weeks and months but right now we are actively looking for a manager and members of staff to run this exciting new offering in the city centre.”
Wintertons has been a driving force in the auction world for seven generations, yielding gavels across Staffordshire since 1864.
With its headquarters remaining at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Fradley Park, the firm opened an additional auction house in Tamworth in 2021. In addition, 2022 marked a quarter of a century since Richard Winterton and wife Janet took over the family business.
Today, sons Tom, Ben, Harry and James are all part of the firm.
