A cafe run and built by former prisoners, which is set to open on Bristol’s Gloucester Road, has confirmed when it will be opening this year. The Key Cafe is being established by The Restore Trust, an organisation whose mission is to reduce reoffending rates by providing practical skills and work experience to individuals transitioning from prison.
In a recent blog post published to its official website on January 14, The Key Cafe confirmed that it will be opening in April 2025, though an exact date is not given as of yet. The Trust is currently renovating a disused Ministry of Justice (MoJ) building on Gloucester Road, located in front of HMP Bristol, on the corner of Cambridge Road, and between The Golden Lion pub and the Sainsbury’s Local.
The Trust describes The Key Cafe, which unveiled its new branding back in November via its Instagram account, as “more than just a coffee shop – it’s a lifeline for those seeking a fresh start”. The cafe will be partnering with local and popular brands, including Single Variety Co, Canton Tea, and Triple Co Roast, and promising visitors “a space where high quality food and social purpose intersect”.
In the latest blog post, the Trust outlines how the cafe will ensure the safety of its customers, writing: “We all have a duty to support rehabilitation in our local communities and we can meet or could be served every day by people in other organisations who may have a previous conviction history that we are not aware of. If anything, the cafe will have a much stricter risk assessment and safeguarding procedures in place than any other similar establishment which will be closely monitored and reviewed on a regular basis.”
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It adds that employees will be ‘vetted in the same way as any other employee’, with ‘safer recruitment processes’ and the criteria for placement will ‘exclude some employees with particular offence categories’, such as those individuals with violent or sexually motivated crimes.
The Key Cafe has been sharing regular updates around the renovation work, which is being carried out by Bristol Together – a company that provides full-time jobs for recently released prisoners in the construction industry. They employ and train individuals in a range of building skills, and then help them on to their next role.
One of the standout features of this initiative is a unique partnership with the award-winning jam makers, Single Variety Co. The company will not only supply the café but also lead jam-making workshops with prisoners, with pots of ‘Jail Jar Jam’ already available to purchase from Papadeli on Alma Road in Clifton, with proceeds going back into the project and raising funds for the jam making equipment.
BristolLive first reported on plans for the cafe back in October 2023 when The Key Cafe was given planning permission to open in the disused Ministry of Justice building in front of the prison in Horfield. According to its website, The Key describes how it will ‘open a cafe and retail space that will sell speciality coffees and cakes and bespoke handmade products, including upcycled goods and art produced in prisons and by independent craftspeople’.
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