Café society – Dunwood Park community hub back in business

DUNWOOD Park café in Shaw will re-open for business in the New Year after a successful search for new tenants.

Previously known as Café Mandels, the building has been closed since former tenant Amanda Wright left at the end of August.

Joe Williams, Lynn Abdullah and Dave Ferrier

Now, after a tender process, a new group, already operating similar ventures in Oldham and Stockport, has been appointed to run the premises in one of the borough’s best kept parks.

Pure Innovations is a charity supporting people with a disability and other barriers to work to get into work, learn new skills and get involved in community activities.

They already run the Boathouse Café – overlooking the lake in Alexandra Park – plus cafes in Vernon and Etherow Country Parks in Stockport.

Planning permission has been submitted for a permanent license to run the building which is expected to simply become known as Dunwood Park Café.

Pure’s Director of Operations, Dave Ferrier, confirmed the café, once open, will stay open all year round. Previously, Amanda wanted to close during the winter months because of a lack of footfall.

“Our aim is to try and make the café feel part of the community,” Dave told the Correspondent.
“That will be reflected with our menu and our décor.

“The primary function will be a café with the ethos of home-made products.

“But we want to make it a warm and inviting space which the community can use.

“That could be parents and toddlers, family groups, knit and natter groups. Everyone will be welcome.

“We want to make sure we do everything to make the café as attractive to the local community as possible and to use our experience to try and make that happen.

“As Pure Innovations, we provide support for people with disability so the café will be supported and run by our clients with a disability.”

Subject to final confirmation, the premises will open 10am-4pm during the winter and 9am-4pm in the summer.

“However, we would really like to make the most of the summer months,” added Dave.

“There is a beautiful terrace and space for people to sit and we want to make as much of that as we can.

“Obviously, it will depend on trade and demand but we aim to extend our opening hours into the evening with events such as tapas nights or we are happy to take on board any suggestions.”

As a charitable operation, any money made will be ploughed back into Pure Innovations to allow them to continue working with people with a disability.

Initially offering day care provision in Stockport 13 years ago, a similar service was rolled out across Rochdale and Oldham. Pure now work with nine of Greater Manchester’s 10 local authorities.

“We are driven to ensure our clients have great days and great real life experiences,” added Dave.

“They get to experience what it’s like to work in a café and feel part of the community.”

0 Replies to “Café society – Dunwood Park community hub back in business”

  1. This is no Alexandra park & the footfall will be around 5-10% of there so we wait & see how & what the new people provide regarding facilities & menus but good luck with the new venture

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *