From Spray Tans to Lattes: The Accidental Café Owner Who Never Looked Back.
Swadlincote-based The Coffee Machine Collective recently supplied a machine to Tamworth powerhouse Gina Gee. This story follows Gina’s instinctive, entrepreneurial journey—one that will resonate with every small-business adventurer.
By Scott Milligan
(LtoR) Mark, Michelle, Gina G, Chloe, Michelle
When you meet someone who has built a business on grit, instinct, and zero spreadsheets, you know it’s going to be a good story. And that’s exactly what this is. What started as a beauty salon with sunbeds and spray tans has blossomed into a café with a big pink coffee machine and Italian clothing for real women. But let’s rewind.
For two decades, Gina ran a beauty space offering spray tans (up to 50 a week at one point), sunbeds, and rented chairs to hairdressers. Though she dabbled in nails and waxing, it didn’t spark her joy—“too fiddly.” Her real passion? Making things happen. When managing the shop became more about logistics than love, she downsized and brought her spray tan business home. Overheads disappeared, but something was missing.
A Love for Retail is Reignited
A short stint working in a nearby clothing store lit a new fire. Italian fashion, relaxed fits, and clothes that spoke to her generation—this wasn’t being done in Tamworth. She started small: £1,000, a handful of scarves, and one rail in her spray tan room. Tan customers began to browse. It was modest, but momentum built slowly—until COVID hit.
COVID: The Unexpected Accelerator
While lockdown shut the doors for many, it opened new ones for her. She took her rail of clothes home and hosted her first Facebook Live. Then another. Week by week, rail by rail, her tiny online venture exploded. From one rail to six rails sold in a night, her Saturday morning Lives became must-watch TV. And with the funds rolling in, she expanded the shop.
From Fashion to Flat Whites
After years of building an online clothing business—with a loyal customer base, a buzzing Facebook presence, and a well-stocked website—she noticed a gap in the local area: no coffee shops, no sandwiches, no bakery. She didn’t overthink it. She just did it.
In two weeks, her boutique morphed. Clothes shifted to a showroom in the back, packing tables moved upstairs, and a café emerged—complete with a SanRemo coffee machine in pink, naturally.
The Challenges of the Café World
But opening a café wasn’t all sunshine and biscotti. The world of espresso machines was a minefield: second-hand or new? Two group heads or three? No clue. After a frustrating series of dead-ends with potential suppliers, a warm conversation with Kit Kersey, MD of The Coffee Machine Collective changed everything. He took the time to talk her through the options, tailored her setup, and even sourced the perfect pink machine. That sealed the deal.
Food was another learning curve. She didn’t want greasy fry-ups. Instead, she offered cakes, sandwiches, and a rotating selection of fresh options sourced from local wholesalers. Some gadgets were disasters. (Note: ultra-hot ovens from Facebook Marketplace that don’t work = expensive mistakes.) But she pressed on. That’s just who she is.
“If you’ve got an idea in your head and know how you want it to look, go for it. You’ll work it out as you go. When I needed a fridge, I sold more clothes through my Facebook Live’s to buy it. You find ways.”
Doing it Without the Rulebook
What makes her story remarkable isn’t market research or a perfect business plan. It’s the complete lack of both. “I wing everything,” she laughs. From fashion to coffee, she follows her gut—and it works. Pricing, sourcing, hiring—everything is trial and error, a dance of instinct and effort.
She battles fibromyalgia and arthritis daily. Some days are harder than others, but she keeps going. “Hot bath in the morning sorts me out, and then I’m good."
This is a story of improvisation, community, and entrepreneurial fire. It’s also a reminder that sometimes the best businesses are built from sheer will—and maybe a little pink coffee machine magic.
Gina’s order included the following:-
Sanremo ZOE Customised 2 Group Machine [view product]
SR64 Evo Grinder [view product]
Perfect Moose Milk Frother [view product]
For more information contact MD Kit Kersey from The Coffee Machine Collective directly.
SWADLINCOTE
01283 296 117
Have a positive community story to share? Email Tom Drysdale at tom.drysdale@burtonecho.co.uk, and we’ll do our best to bring it to life!
Please help Burton Radio and Burton Echo support the community through radio, online news and social media. Both initiatives are via a not-for-profit organisation. We support local artists, community organisations and businesses.
10,000 copies of the Burton Echo will published in FREE tabloid form Summer 2025.
Your donation will help the crew at Burton Radio & Burton Echo give free social media promotion, radio interviews and news articles for local community organisations, artists and fledgling businesses.
