What’s on

Café and events

The shop and coffee bar is open daily 10am–5pm, serving excellent coffee, loose-leaf teas and the finest cakes and savoury baked goods in a relaxed, community atmosphere.

We also have regular evening openings, for music, cocktails, gallery launches and other fun stuff; keep an eye and follow us on socials to see what’s going on…

A crowd enjoying an event at The Old Electric Shop in Hay

Open every day from 10am to 5pm, all welcome 

“Fantastically quirky shop filled with things you had no idea you needed but almost certainly won’t leave without. Cafe was superb. Excellent coffee”
— Google user review
“Super place, really interesting shop to browse, and lovely coffee too. Friendly staff. Very glad we found this store - I wish it was on my High Street!”
— Google user review
“Welsh independent shop and bookshop The Old Electric Shop is a creative communal space where you are invited to spend quality time - and with a coffee bar, cocktail bar and live music events, it’s extra tempting. The shop sells furniture, gifts, homeware, clothes and plants. There are Bulgarian wool blankets, French Opinel secateurs, pots of Breconshire honey, plus alluring cakes and bakes”
— Homes and Gardens magazine, December 2025

Lonely Planet

“Hay’s hippest café inhabits an eclectic junk-shop-like space crammed with studios selling new and vintage clothing, furniture and, of course, books. Some nights (and every night during the Hay Festival) the Electric Shop puts on a pop-up cocktail bar, often with live music.”

Blackboard announcing evening cocktail bar during Hay Festival
Barista preparing coffee behind a counter with a display case of cakes in a cozy café setting, featuring a blue teapot and cups on a tray.
Baklava pieces arranged in a circular pattern on a white plate.
Three cocktails on a table with shelves of glassware and jars in the background. One cocktail is brown with coffee beans as garnish, another is pink with a raspberry, and the third is clear with herbs.
Sign listing milk options: whole cow, skimmed cow, oat, coconut, and soy, with no extra charge.
A musician playing an electric guitar at a late night music event at The Old Electric Shop in Hay-on-Wye.
Two plates of desserts in a display case: one with chocolate-drizzled oat bars and another with sliced wholemeal almond honey cake topped with almond slices.
Various cocktails on a table with decorative lights and a flower arrangement in the background.
A cup of coffee with latte art on a textured surface.
Indoor party scene at The Old Electric Shop in Hay-on-Wye.
Bakery display with various pastries on glass shelves, including a banana loaf with caramel. Handwritten labels describe the items, such as raspberry blondies and lemon drizzle cake, against a backdrop of cherry blossoms.
Sign for The Old Electric Shop advertising a cocktail bar, music, and food available during the Hay Festival from 9am to 11pm.
Two musicians playing violins at The Old Electric Shop in Hay-on-Wye.
The shop front at night with large arched windows, during an event at The Old Electric Shop in Hay-on-Wye.
Café staff at The Old Electric Shop in Hay-on-Wye.
A late night music event at The Old Electric Shop in Hay-on-Wye.