A social media influencer is turning a vacant retail unit in the Kennet Centre into a café using only £300 as part of his latest charitable venture.
Max McCann is a 28-year-old TikTok star from Tadley whose account @mealswithmax, which is focused on teaching people how to make healthy and budget-friendly food, has more than 2 million followers on the platform.
He has completed several different physical fundraising challenges - including completing 1,000 burpees in under three hours - as part of his mission to help donate meals to those in need.
Mr McCann’s new coffee shop challenge actually came about as a surprise after he first leased the Kennet Centre unit for its upper floor space to produce his range of different food seasonings.
He has sold over 12,000 seasoning products since launching them last year, and with every jar sold he donates a meal to a foodbank.
As the unit came with a vacant storefront, Mr McCann decided to embark on a 30-day challenge to create a vibrant café starting off with only £300.
He started completely from scratch, getting workmen and artists to donate their time to kit out the unit and decorate the walls with graphics and paintings.
Mr McCann said: “I thought that I could try to help inspire people that maybe don’t have a lot of money to start a business to show them that you don’t need thousands and thousands to do so, but at the same time support the local community.
“Everything that we do here, similar to the seasonings, is all about supporting people locally.”
Currently, the café only sells filter coffee and tea, but soon it will stock baked goods, other food items and soon Mr McCann hopes to purchase a proper espresso machine.
Ten per cent of all the profits made at the café are going directly to West Berks Foodbank and Mr McCann has also incorporated a ‘pay it forward’ initiative to the business.
Customers who come into the café, as well as Mr McCann’s extensive social media following, can donate and pay for a coffee for someone in need.
These donations will be converted into vouchers which are then handed to Newbury Soup Kitchen and West Berks Foodbank who will distribute them to those in need to allow them to come to the café and redeem a free coffee or food item.
More than 1,200 vouchers have already been given to the local charities.
Mr McCann added: “Anyone that is struggling hopefully won’t have to go a day without eating or drinking something.”
He has the lease for the café, which is called McCann’s Coffee Shop, until September 2025 and he hopes to grow the café from its humble beginnings into a permanent food outlet in the heart of the town centre.
Mr McCann will finish his 30-day challenge on May 8, at which time he hopes the café will be fully running and operational.
