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Real Food Café at Exeter Library to close its doors

Posted on 16 Aug 2019

The Board of Exeter Local Food Ltd. which trades as The Real Food Café has decided to close the café at Exeter Library as they turn their attention to the successful Real Food Store.

“We were delighted to be invited to run the café at the library and seized the opportunity with both hands back in the summer of 2017” said David Mezzetti, chair of Exeter Local Food, the community benefit society responsible for the business, “but try as we might and with a dedicated staff team determined to make a go of it we just could not turn in a profit.”

“We are committed to providing local, ethical and organic food and wouldn’t consider compromising our offer, but even after simplifying the food offer to reflect customer preferences, reducing overheads and getting by with fewer staff we felt that it was no longer viable. As a result, two full time member of staff and a number of sessional staff will be losing their jobs. We’re grateful to Libraries Unlimited, as our landlord, for their support in trying to help us make a go of this venture.”

The café will close its doors for the final time on Saturday 14th September. Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs Exeter Library, will be looking at new opportunities for the café space within the library.

A spokesperson for Libraries Unlimited said: “We will be very sorry to see Real Food and the café team leave Exeter Library. It’s been a pleasure to have Real Food here as our tenants for the past two years, offering library visitors a high-quality and sustainable menu. We do, however, fully respect their decision to focus on the Real Food Store, of which we are all big supporters.

“For the time being, the café at Exeter Library will remain closed after 14th September as we explore new opportunities and ideas to fill the space. Our priority is to ensure we’re offering services and facilities that are wanted by the Exeter community, and for that reason, we’ll be reaching out to our library customers and the local community to ask them what they would like to see in their library.”

The Real Food Store will continue to operate from its shop at 3 The Crescent, Exeter Central Station in Queen Street offering a full range of fresh, local and seasonal goods alongside a growing range of larder goods and the ever-popular Emma’s Bread.

“We shall now be giving all our attention to our core business and developing sustainable plans for the next five year period.” The store is open from 8.30am six days a week.

For more information please contact:

Beth O’Sullivan, Communications and Marketing Manager

Libraries Unlimited believes…

…in the unlimited potential of library services to make a positive difference to people’s lives and communities through a shared love of reading and access to high quality information and facilities.