The smell of freshly brewed coffee and baked pretzels now welcomes people coming in and out of Richmond thanks to a new business that has set up shop in the station.

Knot coffee and pretzel serves hungry commuters 500 pretzels a day from the Richmond café, which also has branches in Clapham Junction and Kingston Market Place.

Frenchman Vincent Pierrot co-founded Knot with his wife, who he met in Richmond 10 years ago, and has put his own twist on the American and German pretzel concepts.

He said: “We think that we can do something different. We tried to work on a recipe that was a little bit more artisan but still being a bit indulgent.

“We are about sweet and savoury snacks anytime of the day.”

Knot’s best-selling pretzel flavour, cinnamon, is on sale around the clock, but offerings are varied throughout the day and season and include chorizo, bacon and cheese, and Romano pizza.

The soft dough is different from the pretzels you eat on the streets of Philadelphia or New York and is cooked for up to 12 hours and Mr Pierrot said he was also keen to raise the bar in terms of coffee.

He said: “Most of the work comes from the barrista. We weigh every single cup out and every single drink is made to order.”

Summer treats including fresh lemonade, iced coffees and lollies will be replaced with hot hearty soups as winter draws in.

The tasty treats can be enjoyed on the go or in the cosy Knot café, which seats 12 and was designed by Mark Lawson Bell, the artistic director behind Sketch restaurant in Mayfair.

Decor includes wallpaper created out of Google searches for the word knot and the café is kitted out with power sockets to charge up phones, plug in computers or pick a book off the shelf and kick back for a read.

Mr Pierrot said: “Here it’s more like a village. We realised from the start we need to get out there as our customers are in the street.”