Women in Business 2024: Lauren Gavin (A little bird told me)

‘A little bird told me’ was born almost three years ago in the car park at Lough Lene on a sunny June bank holiday. After a successful weekend, a week later I made the decision to hand in my notice at my full-time job and take a risk on an old vintage Rice horsebox that I had converted into a coffee cart.

The dream of having my own coffee shop didn’t start there, however, it was in Melbourne, Australia, where by chance I ended up working in a busy cafe in the city centre. That is where I established my love for coffee and the Melbourne cafe culture. I loved everything about it, the fast paced environment, meeting new people of all walks of life on a daily basis, the team spirit of the people I worked with, but most importantly learning about all things coffee and food and what it takes to run a cafe.

When I returned home, the dream of opening my own coffee shop didn’t happen straight away – it took a few years and a pandemic to kick-start the process of buying a 1980s horsebox and converting it into the start of A little bird told me.

A year and a half later, with lots of hard work and determination and building a great customer base, we opened our bricks and mortar shop on Patrick Street, and celebrated our first year at our permanent location in December 2023. We hope to keep welcoming old and new customers for the years ahead.

– Lauren Gavin, A little bird told me, Mullingar.