The Birdhouse café in Exeter’s Pinces Gardens has soared to success since new management took over in April. Visitors are flocking there to enjoy the delicious takeaway food and drink on offer, taking advantage of the longer opening hours.
Owned by Exeter City Council, the café was originally a derelict gatehouse, transformed in 2022 by singer songwriter Abbe Martin into a takeaway and community hub. After Abbe decided to leave due to commitments to her family and career, the Birdhouse was swooped on by Exeter based social enterprise company Garland Support, which set up Garland@TheBirdhouse.
Now, the café not only offers fantastic food and drink and a sociable environment, but it also provides much-needed work opportunities for adults with learning disabilities.
The Birdhouse is managed by Kelly Sharp, who recently returned to Exeter after a stint managing coffee shops in Australia. With a focus on supporting local producers, Kelly is working with suppliers such as Crankhouse Coffee, Ginger Cat Deli, Yarde Farm Ice Cream, Sloe Bakery, Exploding Bakery and The Sidwell Street Bakehouse for the café’s tempting choice of hot and cold drinks, sweet treats and savouries. She has also extended the opening hours which is proving popular with locals.
Kelly says “To be honest, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind since we opened. We’ve had such great support from customers, and really lovely feedback. I’m loving trying out new ideas like our breakfast toasties and themed doughnuts, and our customers seem to enjoy them too! And our coffees are definitely very popular, they come highly recommended.”
As well as providing sustenance for the local St Thomas community and those enjoying the pretty gardens, the café is providing employment and volunteering opportunities for some of the service users at Garland Support.
Established in 2015 by Anthony Lee and Kelly’s brother, Paul Sharp, Garland Support offers a fresh approach to adults with learning disabilities. The Birdhouse is a great example of the type of initiative they are keen to promote.
Paul explained: “We realised that the Birdhouse could really work for us on two levels. Firstly, it’s a small friendly space ideal for our service users to develop skills that will help their long-term prospects.
“Secondly, it also serves as a money making venture to support our work. Garland is a not-for-profit social enterprise, so every penny we make – every cup of coffee if you like – either goes into supporting the service we provide or back into the community.”
When Paul outlined the job opportunities, eleven of Garland’s service users expressed an interest in working at the café. They were all interviewed and have now started working shifts, undertaking hours and activities suited to their abilities. “They were really excited to get started, and they absolutely love it, they’re all chuffed to bits!”
Paul explained that the Birdhouse pays these workers direct and there’s no special treatment. “We treat it exactly like any other job, they have to turn up on time and meet the highest standards. This gives them a sense of what it’s like in the real world.” Over the next year, there are plans for some of the traybakes and cakes to be made by service users, too, providing even more job opportunities”.
Garland service users are also responsible for some of the striking logo designs and decor for the shutters and doors of the cafe, inspired by the ‘Matisse’ bird paintings.
Just three months after the handover from Abbe, the new Birdhouse team is confident that they are well on track with their mission for the café to become the ‘heart of a vibrant neighbourhood’, not just as a takeaway, but a drop in space for the whole community, from local groups to parents, refugees to dog walkers, and occasional pop ups including workshops.
“It would be brilliant if people from other parts of Exeter came to try the Birdhouse experience,” Kelly says. “We’re quite well known in St Thomas now but would love even more people to understand what we’re all about – and, of course, enjoy our fantastic food and drink.”
The Birdhouse café is open seven days a week from 8.00am to 2.00pm and can be found in Pinces Gardens, Pinces Road. Indoor and outdoor seating is available for customers.
You can follow the Birdhouse café on Facebook for more details.
