THE POPULAR Bread + Roses cafe in Bradford city centre is set to reopen its doors following six months of closure.

The community cafe and co-working space, found on North Parade, will be back serving customers from Monday, September 28 with staff explaining how they had to "rethink" the space and its community offering.

After undertaking a Covid-secure risk assessment, the seating has been spaced throughout the cafe with access to the rooftop garden.

The menu has been temporarily changed to offer takeaway meals, however there will be seats for people to use if they wish to eat in.

The co-working space, which reopened in August, saw the cafe offer a free trial throughout August and September.

Thanks to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, the cafe also invested in the latest video conferencing and online video broadcasting equipment. It is offering free training and free trial use of all the equipment to local community groups, activists, social enterprises.

In an update to the cafe's opening times, it will now open Monday - Friday from 9am - 5pm.

Throughout the last few months, the business has also made some changes to its organisational structure in order to enter the ‘new normal’ in the best position.

Bread + Roses has employed a new business manager to steer the cafe into the future with plenty of ideas in the works.

From stallholders, art spaces and a shop, Katie Driver, the new business manager, said “I cannot wait to safely get the doors open, meet the local community and start working on exciting in house and local projects.

"Being part of a co-operative means makes it more exciting. There's lots of different ideas coming together.

"It might take a little bit longer but we are committed to moving forwards.

"To be locked down for such a long time, it's exciting for everybody to be working again. I wasn't part of the team before so I've come in the middle of it all. The team is working really well together."

A number of businesses have recently opened or moved to the top of town area, including vintage clothing shop Mean Old Scene and the much-loved Plant One On Me.

When asked how it feels to be a part of the North Parade business scene, Katie said: "I think the council are helping with their pavement scheme. They're putting planters on North Parade, as it's a wider street they're making it even wider and putting planters to make it pretty, to put some green space at that top bit of Bradford, which is great.

"There's the new bar, there's more footfall coming. We haven't been open but the fact we're opening is showing some strength. It would have been easy to delay the opening as we've been closed for such a long time. We're desperate to get open and together again.

"There's a real market for vegan food as well. During Covid everybody's trying to be a little bit more health conscious."

Bread + Roses is part of the wider Bradford Co-operative Association, which also includes Chapel Street Studio, a creative agency.

The co-operative was started up by local businesses, food producers, arts groups and charities, inspired by activist and union leader Rose Schneiderman’s 1912 speech on how people need necessities for living (bread) and opportunities to flourish (roses).

Alongside the government grants available to businesses affected by COVID-19, it received a £25,000 grant through the Power to Change C-19 Trading Income Support Scheme. Chair of the Board, Carl White said the Bradford Co-operative Association was able furlough all of the eligible staff through until the end of October.