The Trew Era Café is a non-profit
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
established in March 2015 in
Hackney,
East London
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...
. The café, opened by comedian and activist
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...
, was funded by profits from his 2014 book, ''
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
''.
The café name and logo come from its location on the
New Era estate
The New Era estate is a housing estate in Hoxton, in the London Borough of Hackney, part of East London. Approximately 100 families lived on the estate in 2015.
The New Era Tenants' Association of estate residents had been involved in protests o ...
and from Brand's web series,
The Trews
The Trews are a Canadian rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley. The band is currently based in Hamilton, Ontario. From thei ...
''.
In September 2016, Brand donated the cafe to The Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPT) whose London Recovery Hub is located next door to the Trew Era Cafe.
Background
During promotion for his book, Brand stated that he would use the profits to fund a
social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
Social enterprises ca ...
to employ former drug users in "abstinence-based recovery" and help them return to work.
The café is located on the
New Era estate, whose residents faced eviction in 2014 when their rents were to be tripled by a new owner,
Westbrook Partners
Westbrook may refer to:
Places Australia
* Westbrook, Queensland, a town south-west of Toowoomba.
New Zealand
* Westbrook, New Zealand, a suburb of Palmerston North
United Kingdom
* Westbrook, Berkshire
* Westbrook, Kent, part of Margate
* Wes ...
. They campaigned against the proposed purchase by Westbrook, and Brand supported and drew attention to the residents' cause. In December 2014, Westbrook backed out and the approximately 100 families of the New Era estate ultimately were able to stay.
Facility
In February 2015, work began on the facility, next to a printing shop and a barbershop.
The location was formerly a clothes shop but was empty for some time.
The café opened its doors on the morning of 26 March 2015, with approximately 200 people coming for the event.
Brand stated that he hopes to have a chain of self-supporting social enterprises.
On the café opening, he told the crowd, "In this book, I wrote about how the way to change politics is not depending on the existing political class and the existing political system, but for us ourselves to start grassroots movements like what has happened on the New Era estate...this café is going to be run by people in abstinence-based recovery. It's a model which is not for profit, a fully self-supporting new economic enterprise."
As of July 2015, the cafe employed seven recovering addicts, who are paid £9.15 per hour, and a manager.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trew Era Cafe
Coffeehouses and cafés in London
2015 establishments in England
Social enterprises
Russell Brand