A few years ago, this vibrant community café at the top of Telegraph Road in the south-east London borough of Lewisham didn’t exist. There was just a derelict and damp undercroft space beneath a small community centre.
Fast-forward to today and The Hill Station on Kitto Road is a bustling place where local people meet, tell stories, share ideas, teach, learn and enjoy art.
Oh yeah, and eat and drink too!
A thriving community café
The long wooden table by the window is full of mums and toddlers happily tucking in to mid-morning snacks, and the place is soon buzzing with the busy lunchtime trade.
So how did the transformation from run down space to community café come about?
Jacqui Shimidzu and Stephen Carrick-Davies, were the movers and shakers of the community centre’s rebirth as a social enterprise. They’re both sure the café’s success is entirely down to the local community.
“People living here have always had a strong sense of belonging, and when a number of local residents set up a charity in 2010 called Bold Vision, it inspired others to get involved.”
“In a relatively short space of time we had an army of volunteers giving up their time, skills and money to make it happen.”
Stephen says the appetite for change was enormous.
“At first I just helped out with the fund-raising, but it was soon clear this was going to be a project that was really going places. At a time when politicians were talking about the Big Society, we were creating a small society that was actually getting things done – it was amazing!”
Community in action
“Neighbours put on concerts, hosted football matches and dropped newsletters through 6,000 local homes inviting everyone to share the dream of building something together.”
“We raised £60,000 to completely transform the wasted space into something warm and welcoming. People who were short of cash provided ‘sweat equity’ – digging, decorating and building.”
“Even the name, Hill Station, was decided by a local competition.”
At that time Jacqui was running a mobile café in the park opposite, and she soon became involved. Jacqui and Stephen joined forces, each bringing different skills to the venture but both with a common aim.
Jacqui laughs. “We like to say the answer is ‘yes’, now what’s the question? Anyone’s welcome to come up with an idea to benefit the local community, and we will do our best to help them make it happen.”
Patrick is the perfect example. A keen cook, his Caribbean barbecue is the talk of the neighbourhood.
“The café is great for me. I can concentrate on making great tasting jerk chicken, rice and peas and coleslaw along with my secret sauce, and the café team helps me promote the events.”
More than just food
Over the years, the café has developed an impressive range of activities.
There are community cooking classes where teenagers, young mums and older couples meet to swap recipes, tips and food stories.
They host seasonal events like Burns Night and Valentine’s suppers and there’s a Grow Wild course which teaches about foraged and home-grown foods.
A shop in one corner of the café provides space for locals to sell their home-made goods, everything from jam to jewellery. In return, each person staffs the shop on a rota, increasing their confidence and skills while helping others.
Helping others
The café acts as a collection point for the local food bank and other local charities use its premises for collecting items to sell.
Hill Station never stands still, it’s always on the lookout for new ideas – like barrista training.
Jacqui explains. “I get so many youngsters, desperate for work and really keen to do anything, but they don’t know the first thing about serving in a modern café. I train them to use the equipment, to make excellent coffee, in all the varieties that people expect these days. That’s a valuable skill on their CV.”
Goodwill and loyalty
Stephen says Hill Station’s influence spreads far and wide.
“It may be a community café and people may drop in once out of loyalty, but if we don’t serve a wide variety of good, reasonably priced drinks and tasty food they won’t come back. Goodwill only takes you so far, then it’s up to you to provide a service that people want.”
It’s not easy, running a small café, in competition with the big high street brands, especially when it’s part of your ethos to pay the London living wage and use local suppliers wherever possible.
Stephen admits it’s tough. “We run on business-like lines, even down to computerised tills registering exactly what we’ve sold and when, so we can use real-time information to make plans that are firmly based in reality.”
“We have support from our local councillors, and we rely heavily on the goodwill and loyalty of our customers. We hope those who have a bit of spare cash to spend will support us so we can in turn pay it forward to those who need more help.”
“Any big business can give something back, employment, use of rooms, charity collections and so on, but we’re different because we are embedded in the community. People can come to us for really key support such as basic food hygiene, business cards, marketing advice, putting people in touch with each other so they can be helped to help themselves.”
Community voice
Everyone we spoke to on our visit agreed.
Young mum Magda is a regular. “It’s really good for the community and you meet lots of different people. The menu’s great, too, with gluten-free and organic options.”
Jenny is a first time visitor. “I was a bit worried as I wasn’t sure what to expect from a community café, but I’ve really enjoyed coming here – it’s very child-friendly and the staff are happy.”
Bridget Mckenzie is one of the original supporters, still using the café as a meeting place.
“What drew me in was the idea of creating a community vision. As a freelance cultural consultant, it was a chance to put ideas into action. A lot of people work from home around here, and somewhere to meet and fight isolation is increasingly important. It’s also a great venue for art and cultural events.”
Stephen sums it all up.
“Hill Station Café is not a food project, it’s a people project. It’s a hub where people meet and make connections. If you ask me where we will be in five years, I’ll say ‘I honestly don’t know’ – and that’s how it should be.”
Additional photographs © Hill Station café
More information about Hill Station Community Café
• See their website or Check their Facebook page for details of current events and activities
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