A community cafe has opened its doors in the heart of a town centre with the aim to provide full stomachs and warm hearts.
No 15 cafe opened its doors at 15 Baldertongate, Newark and aims to bring the community together in a joint effort of volunteers and donations.
Sara Brumhead the Newark Baptist Church minister and chairman of the Well Homeless support is the main volunteer running the cafe.
The aim is to function as a normal cafe, however, payment will depend on each person’s needs and what they can afford.
“We are aware that there are a lot of people in Newark that are quite lonely and some that are struggling with homelessness or debt, problems, issues and it is useful to have somewhere you can come and just sit and natter,” said Sara.
She added: “Or somewhere you can come in and just be warm.
“Some people come in and just sit and have a coffee and a meal and natter and go again and that's fine and some people come in because they're struggling or they're homeless or there's something going wrong and they need help and very often we can't help but we know who can.“
No 15 is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4pm until 6pm.
They used to run an open kitchen on a Thursday morning at the Newark Baptist Church on Albert Street, Newark from 2015 until 2023.
The creation of the open kitchen, which aimed to feed people who wanted a hot meal, led to the creation of the Well and Homeless Support charity.
The building where the shelter used to operate was too big and hard to maintain, therefore, Sara decided to sell it and buy the space in the town centre, which is now No 15.
The community cafe is funded by cash donations and support from some churches in the area.
For people who wish to support the cafe, there is a list of tinner goods and other necessary items on the door of the cafe, which can be dropped at the cafe.
“We'd love it to be a space that feels safe and comfortable for anybody who needs help or support to come in, but also to be a space where you can come and have a coffee with a friend and wander out again and you know, just be a space.
“The only thing is that we're very keen on that there are quite a lot of small cafes in Newark that make their living doing this, which is why we're going at tea times because we don't want to open and compete with other businesses.
“It's not about being in competition, it's really about providing community service.”
