Community cafe relaunches next week with the same ethos as under Caritas

The former Caritas Community Cafe has been rebranded as Mill Street Community Cafe.

The site was purchased eight years ago by the Church of England Deanery, which ended the Caritas lease earlier this year. An independent benefactor, who wants to stay anonymous, bought the property with the specific intention of preserving it as a community cafe.

The ethos of the business will remain the same, with generosity and togetherness at its core, and it will continue to support the Caritas Community Charitable Trust when possible.

Cafe manager Sue Devine said everyone was welcome.

‘We’ve had far more people coming in since the pandemic began and we have almost doubled our takings.’

The cafe aims to provide cheap food and drinks for people who would otherwise struggle to afford it and will be open straight through its transition into new ownership.

‘It’s for people who are lonely and want company – I often call them the hidden society. We have a lot of international people coming in too. I think they think it’s something different and they like the idea of helping other people,’ said Mrs Devine.

Some 30 volunteers work to support the day-to-day running of the cafe, but Mrs Devine said that due to some staff shielding during the pandemic, more volunteers are always welcome.

Various organisations have donated food that would otherwise go to waste, including Waitrose, the Guernsey Welfare Trust and Cook.

Former Caritas Community Trust trustees chairman and cafe chef the Rev. Richard Bellinger was visiting as a customer yesterday.

‘It’s a joy to be here. What better place could you come to for amazing vegan food? I hope the ambience stays the same. It’s a cafe for everyone, that’s the important thing, and the volunteers are fantastic,’ he said.

. The official launch of the cafe is at noon on Wednesday. It will be open 10am-2pm Wednesday-Saturday.