Help get Power Plant Cafe up & running!

Hi! We're Amelia, Elaine & Mike who used to run Ethica vegan store, on Armada Way in Plymouth.

Power Plant Cafe is our new project just around the corner, combining a brand new vegan cafe and shop under one roof.

Unfortunately we’ve had a few problems with setting up our new place and need your help to get it finished!

Veganism is thriving but we still find that there’s a lack of fresh, healthy & tasty vegan lunchtime options around, and there are lots of new/specialist products being brought out that aren’t available in Plymouth!

 Cafe -

Our mission is to create vibrant, energising lunches and light bites that are kind to animals and don’t break the bank.

We’ll start with a smallish menu of brunch foods, sub sandwiches, salads & noodle bowls, as well as local handmade cakes and ethical teas & coffees. For folks in a hurry, we’ll have a deli fridge of takeaway sandwiches & salad pots, all packaged using biodegradable or compostable packaging. 

 Shop -

The shop area will mainly sell specialist, hard to find vegan products, as well as organic staples, natural cleaning & laundry products and body care. We really want to help people reduce their plastic waste as much as we can, so we’ll have a refill station for household and bodycare products, as well as various packaging return schemes, and a range of zero-waste products like toothpaste and deodorant.

Power Plant’s aesthetic has been inspired by photos we found of old abandoned power stations, with retro design, distressed metal machinery, and plants springing from every surface. Expect bold colours, industrial style with a hint of Art Deco, and lots of plants!

Unfortunately our new project didn’t start off as smoothly as we’d hoped!

After we first viewed our new property and agreed to take it, squatters took over the building and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to the place. To speed up the process, we arranged to organise the repairs for the landlord, but it’s still led to the project being delayed by almost three months and racking up extra legal fees.

We raised over £50,000 to invest in Power Plant Cafe initially, from money we’d saved up and help from the bank, but with no income since closing Ethica, and both personal and business bills still going out, the delays have taken a chunk out of our funds. This means that unfortunately we won’t be able to finish setting up the cafe side of Power Plant without some help.

   What the money will be spent on:

We’re hoping to raise an extra £10,000 through our Crowdfunder to help finish the remaining building and decorating, and to fully kit out our kitchen upstairs so we can start making some awesome vegan food!

We’re going to open the shop early to try help raise funds for the extra setup costs, but will have to open with a slightly reduced stock. If we manage to hit our stretch goal, it will let us pick up some new lines that we’ve had our eye on and expand the range of products we can carry! 

The good news is we’re in, have completed all of the repairs that were needed, and started building and decorating our new home! 

   We’ve:

• Restored the original wooden flooring
• Removed the suspended ceiling to make the most of the natural light
• Repainted in our brand new colour scheme
• Built the walls that will house the new kitchen
• Decorated the customer toilets
• Started hoarding plants
• Started assembling the shop area and ordering stock

Starting in September we’ll be opening the shop 3 days a week and we’ll continue to work on the cafe setup the other 4 days, including:

• Building the counter area, seating and tables from reclaimed wood.
• Kiting out the counter with new coffee machine etc.
• Installing hand-wash area for the cafe staff
• Ordering all the cups, plates and cutlery
• Making our new sign
• Buying a new EPOS system for the cafe
• Painting the kitchen
• Buying and installing all the kitchen equipment
• Decorating the cafe with artwork, extra plants, a community notice board, book shelves etc

Next spring we want to build an outdoor seating area for the cafe so everyone can enjoy their food in the sunshine!

Thanks for reading and a huge thank you in advance to everyone who can donate or share our Crowdfunder and help bring Power Plant Cafe to life! :) 

Amelia, Elaine & Mike