Phoenix Cafe is a community cafe. We support artists, small businesses and people getting back into work.
We are looking for funding towards our business rates to keep Phoenix open.
November 2014 we created Phoenix, a small independent cafe in the heart of Broadmead, Bristol. Helen and I, both single mums wanted to make a space for people to be creative, showcase their handmade products in a chilled cafe environment. We found a small space in Pithay Studios run by Meanwhile Creative. Within 3 weeks we found second hand furniture (donated by local charities Sofa Project, Bristol Wood Recycling Project and BTR) we managed to set up Phoenix with just £400. We wanted to show that if 2 single mums with little money can set up their own business, then anyone can.
Phoenix has become a family, a base for a lot of people to hang out. The staff are all volunteers and end up staying for months, helping them gain new skills, build confidence and meet people. We hold games nights, acoustic nights, exhibitions and workshops and have had a massive reaction from the positive atmosphere in the cafe. People give a great reaction when walking into the cafe for the first time. Our hope is that Phoenix can be a place for small businesses to use to help their own business start, offering free meeting and workshop space. We’re also a no waste cafe that also uses food waste to keep our menu affordable.
Phoenix is a Community Cafe and currently going through the CIC application process. Because the cafe itself is a large space our business rates are huge. We have tried every avenue to get the rates lowered but had no success.
Our business rates £6480 P/A. Our rent is £5,400 P/A. This doesn’t make sense. How is a small business meant to start when they immediately have to pay such high rates? We are going to court on the 19/08/15 as we have not yet made enough money to pay for business rates. There is little advice on how to get around these rates. This is where we need your help to keep this project and space alive. We will be sharing and recording all of our progress on our blog as we want to give free advice on how we did it and how to help other businesses. Any help or support is greatly appreciated.
Follow our progress and how to get involved:
http://www.facebook.com/phoenixcafebristol
Thank you for everyone who has helped and supported us so far. Please help us to keep this going.
Annie x