Plenty at The Square, in Thornton up for T&A award

The Telegraph & Argus recently launched its Best Coffee Shop 2024 competition.

Readers were asked to share their favourite venues and the nominations have now been whittled down to the final 10.

We are aiming to profile each of the finalists.

Today we bring you Plenty at The Square, in South Square, Thornton, Bradford.

This “imaginative vegetarian/vegan café and picklery” opened in 2017 and blossomed from another project, Plenty Preserves.

Sally Tottle and Emma Hill, two of six co-owners at Plenty at The Square café, in South Square, Thornton (Image: Telegraph & Argus) The cafe has kept the project’s “strong environmental ethos” at the heart of the business, according to one of the six owners, Emma Hill.

She said: “We had an existing social enterprise Plenty Preserves which worked with Bradford Council’s wholesale market St James to make use of unsold and surplus fruit and veg.

“We explored a range of traditional preserving techniques to reduce waste.

“We were looking for premises and discovered that the owner of our beloved local vegetarian café at South Square was giving up.

“A group of friends decided to take it on in 2017 and Plenty at The Square was born.

A homely feel at Plenty at The Square (Image: Telegraph & Argus) Inside Plenty at The Square (Image: Telegraph & Argus) “We still have a strong environmental ethos and design our menu around seasonal gluts, locally grown produce.

“We compost veg waste, make our own cordials so we are not using canned drinks, and run a community veg exchange, run workshops on preserving.

“We are no longer getting surplus from the market, however, since space is limited at our premises.”

Plenty at the Square is nestled in the cosy, open-ended courtyard of South Square and community is important to the six owners.

Plenty at The Square café is based in South Square, Thornton (Image: Telegraph & Argus) This also comes in the form of working with the likes of renowned Dark Woods Coffee, which has won a number of Great Taste Awards over the years.

Emma said: “We care about our local community and are based in the Heritage Community Arts Centre at South Square.

“We are supporting local suppliers where possible.

“We have a strong relationship with our coffee supplier Dark Woods Coffee, based in Slaithwaite, and undertake regular training so our coffee is the best it can be."

Coffee is supplied by the award-winning Dark Woods Coffee, based in Slaithwaite (Image: Telegraph & Argus) Coffee is supplied by the award-winning Dark Woods Coffee, based in Slaithwaite (Image: Telegraph & Argus) Respecting the history of what has come before and providing a cafe that offers an alternative, forms a major part of Plenty at The Square’s identity.

Emma said: “The cafe at South Square had been vegetarian since the 1980s and we decided to keep it that way.

“As one of the few vegetarian and vegan cafes in the district we attract customers from all over the district and beyond but we also have a very loyal and local customer base.

There's 'Plenty' on offer at this café, including cakes... (Image: Telegraph & Argus) ... and marmalades (Image: Telegraph & Argus) “Many of our customers have become our firm friends.

“We are also closely linked to South Square Centre and many of our customers are also visiting the galleries here too."

How to vote

Don't miss out on your chance to vote for the coffee shop you think should win as part of our competition.

All you need to do is fill out the voting form, which can be found in the T&A.

The voting coupon will run in the newspaper until December 7.