New Republic begins in Exchange Flags

Nov 27 2008 by Dawn Collinson, Liverpool Echo

UP ABOVE the clouds at 38,000 feet, Andy Fernandez served coffees to everyone, from Kylie to the Queen. Now the former cabin service director for British Airways has his feet firmly back on the ground, although he’s still in the business of brewing.

Former De La Salle lad Andy has decided to take a career U-turn after 15 years working with the airline to fly home to Liverpool and open his own shop.

Tomorrow night he will realise his ambition with the launch of the city’s first Coffee Republic in the heart of the business district on Exchange Flags. Andy’s good friend, Casualty actress Sunetra Sarker, will officially open the store at its launch party.

It is, he explains, something he’s been considering for the past few years.

He says: “I’ve been flying since I was 19 and I loved my job, the interaction with the public and serving people. But it was long haul, I was always in hotels all over the world and, although that might seem like a great life and it was, it can also be a little bit lonely at times.

“I’m a real family person and I wanted to settle myself back in Liverpool, to work for myself and to have a business where I was going to serve people.”

And if there’s one thing Andy knows about it’s making a decent cappuccino.

“I’ve added it up and I reckon I’ve served about 576,000 cups of coffee and tea in the air,” laughs Andy.

“During my time with BA I worked in a dedicated team of cabin managers who travelled around the world looking after royalty and other VIPs.

“I’ve taken the Queen around Europe, I’ve flown with Tony Blair when he was prime minister, Kylie Minogue on tour and also the Spice Girls. I’ve served all these prestigious people which was amazing and now I want to do it here in Liverpool.

“I’m first class trained so I served our first class customers silver service and we did make freshly ground coffees with foamed milk. It’s pretty similar with my new business, although obviously the machines here are much more advanced than I was using on the aircraft.”

Franchising the Liverpool Coffee Republic flagship store, says Andy, has given him the opportunity to add business skills to his already impressive CV.

“Even though I’m very confident in my customer service skills and my management skills, I’m still at the learning stage with running a business,” he says. “But having a franchise gives you that security and Coffee Republic have been fantastic, taking a lot of the stress away.”