What's on at new Josef K Café in Bradford city centre

Josef K Café, tucked next to the National Science and Media Museum, has opened its doors as a direct result of Bradford’s City of Culture success.

Owner Mira Fadel now hopes to be part of Bradford’s story by serving freshly prepared food and what she calls ‘culturally served’ hot drinks.

The menu features anything from jacket potatoes and pasta to sweet treats.

All the produce, coffee and tea has been sourced from traders in Bradford district, she said.

Mira Fadel, owner of Josef K Café, pictured left, and art workshop host Louise Grassby (Image: Newsquest)

The café hosts a children’s book club every Saturday while plans are already in motion for music nights, debates, writing groups, and cooking competitions for children.

“Bradford is City of Culture – it’s a place for me to really get people into culture in their everyday life,” Mira told the Telegraph & Argus.

“That was the main motive that encouraged me to Bradford. I lived for 28 years in Leeds. My brother brought me here in summer. There are beautiful buildings, I thought ‘This is perfect’.

“When I was doing my research I put ‘Bradford’ in Google, you don’t get pleasant results. We need to change people’s image about it.”

Inside Josef K Café (Image: Newsquest)

Mira’s next chapter is inspired by her career in computer sciences, teaching, and publishing.

“I thought maybe I’ll put all this together in one place,” Mira said.

“Children are the engine of the city in 10 or 15 years so we really need to pay attention to give them the confidence and get them questioning.”

Louise Grassby, a former deputy headteacher turned artist, is set to host a series of art workshops for children at Josef K.

Inside Josef K Café (Image: Newsquest)

“Everyone’s grown up with culture, they might not refer to it as that,” Louise, a former University of Bradford student, said.

“It’s about creating a place that inspires young people. Sometimes at schools young people have to focus a lot on the core subjects. Sometimes the creative side has been pushed to one side. It’s the way we learn to understand each other, through stories and poetry, art and dance.”

Speaking about how culture impacts our lives, Mira said: “It’s something I was brought up with. As a teacher I didn’t see that with children.

The owner of Josef K Café has placed framed pictures of her favourite authors on the wall (Image: Newsquest)

“We need to go back to our nature. We need to live it rather than just talk about it.

“We’ve almost forgot we’re human beings. We’re like robots.

“If you look at any civilisation in the world art is part of it.”

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