Walk down Mostyn Street and you can still tell you’re in Llandudno, not anywhere else. That is down to the independents: the family cafés, the owner-run shops and the local firms that supply them.
National chains have their place. They bring familiar names, long opening hours and big marketing budgets. But a high street made only of chains looks the same as every other town’s, and when a chain closes a branch the decision is made in a head office miles away.
Independents are different. The owner is usually behind the counter, the money mostly stays in North Wales, and the business has a reason to care about the town beyond the next quarter’s figures. This guide looks at where that difference shows up in Llandudno, and why it matters for keeping our high streets and communities alive.
Coffee: a cup that stays local
The chain coffee shops sell a consistent drink, but the beans, the cakes and the profits all travel a long way. Llandudno’s independents tell a different story.
Providero began as a coffee van on the Colwyn Bay seafront, opened its first shop in Llandudno Junction in 2014 and its bigger café on Upper Mostyn Street in 2017, funded partly by a £30,000 community crowdfunder. Its menu has long leaned on Conwy producers such as Trefriw Bakehouse, Baravelli’s chocolates and Celtalan jams.
Behind many of the town’s best cups is Heartland Coffee Roasters, roasting in Cwrt Roger Mostyn off Builder Street since 2012. Heartland supplies cafés right across North Wales, so a flat white bought in Betws or Ruthin can still be putting money into a Llandudno business.
They are far from alone. Our guide to the best cafés in Llandudno has plenty more, from The Loaf on Gloddaeth Street to Coffee V in Craig-y-Don, a small shop built around helping customers find their perfect cup. Each one is a business with a name over the door and a person you can talk to.
Shops: decided here, not in head office
Llandudno has seen what happens when the big names make their decisions elsewhere. Debenhams closed its Llandudno store in May 2021 when the national chain went into liquidation. Marks & Spencer moved out of Mostyn Street to Parc Llandudno, and M&Co left Gloddaeth Street in January 2023 at the end of its lease. None of those calls were about how well Llandudno was trading.
The independents are still here because the town is their business. Parker’s Welsh Rock and Gift Shop on Mostyn Street has traded for more than 30 years. Maisie’s of Llandudno on Vaughan Street brings in work from several chocolatiers, and Givealittle in Craig-y-Don is a small, friendly gift, card and jewellery shop. Craig-y-Don‘s Mostyn Avenue alone has a real bread bakery, family-run restaurants and a speciality coffee shop within a few doors of each other. See our Llandudno shopping guide for more.
That mix is what visitors remember. As one shopper told the Daily Post when M&S announced its move, take the shops out of the centre and the town risks becoming like every other town in Britain.
Suppliers: the businesses behind the businesses
The real difference between an independent and a chain is often invisible: it is who they buy from. A national chain’s coffee, cakes, printing and accounts are usually bought centrally, far from Llandudno. An independent is far more likely to pick up the phone to someone down the road.
You can see that web of local trade in the examples above. Heartland roasts in Llandudno and sells to cafés across the region. Providero has stocked bread, chocolate and preserves from Conwy producers such as Trefriw Bakehouse, Llanbedr-y-Cennin Bakery, Baravelli’s and Celtalan. A sandwich shop in nearby Penrhyn Bay advertises that it uses only local Welsh suppliers.
It does not stop at food. Independents also keep local accountants, printers, sign makers, plumbers, electricians, web designers and delivery drivers in work. Every one of those firms employs people who live, shop and send their children to school here.
Why it matters: money, character and community
Money spent with a local business goes round the town again. Research on English council spending found that 63p of every £1 spent with a small or medium-sized firm stayed in the local economy, against 40p with a larger business. Visa’s 2020 research put it simply: shopping local could double the money that stays in your area.
Character matters too. Llandudno is a Victorian resort that people travel to precisely because it is not a retail park. Owner-run shops keep their frontages smart, stock things you won’t find online in one click and give visitors a reason to stay another hour. Where else would you find a Punch and Judy show run by the same family since 1860?
Then there is community. Independents sponsor the football team, put posters up for the school fair, give the first job to a local teenager and notice when a regular hasn’t been in for a while. When one closes, the town loses more than a shop.
How you can help keep Llandudno independent
Nobody is asking anyone to boycott the chains. Small, regular choices are what keep independents going.
- Swap one coffee a week. Pick the local café over the chain and ask who roasts their beans.
- Buy gifts in town. Birthday cards, chocolates and presents from Mostyn Street or Craig-y-Don, not a warehouse.
- Use local trades. When you need a plumber, printer or accountant, ask around Llandudno first.
- Leave a review. A few kind words on Google or social media cost nothing and help small firms be found.
- Tell visitors. If friends are staying, point them to your favourite independent rather than the nearest big name.
Our high streets are not kept alive by councils or landlords alone. They are kept alive by people choosing, again and again, to spend some of their money with the businesses that make Llandudno feel like Llandudno.
Run an independent business in Llandudno? Make sure you’re listed on llandudno.com so locals and visitors can find you.
