Derelict building in Laois town transformed into new cafe with a twist

A former derelict building in Mountrath is now the site of a new social enterprise providing job skills training and community investment, thanks to grant aid support from the LEADER programme of Laois Partnership Company. 

Café Donate, located on the town’s Patrick Street, promises to not only serve patrons a delicious cup of coffee but also the satisfaction of helping aspiring baristas learn their skills. In addition, local community groups will benefit from fundraising drives though the café, which is being run as a social enterprise, meaning that all traded income is reinvested in sustaining and developing the business. 

Martin Meade is the director of the project, along with Suzy Beyer, the manager of Bloom HQ. Originally from Mountrath but now living in Ballyfin, Martin brings with him considerable business acumen, as apart from being the general manager of Telfords, he was also involved in the start-up of the Mountrath Community Forum and is a founding member of Bloom HQ. Another social enterprise he oversees is the recruitment company, Beatha Nua in Eireann, which was set up to help refugees find employment by facilitating training programmes. 

Martin explains that one of the goals behind the establishment of Café Donate was to give a new lease of life to one of the derelict buildings in Mountrath. 

“There were different places in the town that were struggling. A café had closed down and we really wanted to replace it, so we wanted to take one less derelict building out of the town, do it up and renovate it, which will hopefully attract other businesses,” he says. 

The name of the café was chosen because the ethos underpinning the project is donating back into the community, with plans to fundraise for different community groups every few weeks. There are around six staff members, and while the café will serve tea, coffee, and a small amount of desserts, Martin says that it is not intended to compete with other restaurants, rather the purpose is to provide training for people who are finding it hard to get employment. 

“We train them up in barista courses and give them experience, then other café and restaurant owners can come and see them working, which will hopefully lead to them getting fulltime employment,” he says. 

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As a social enterprise, all profits from Café Donate are channelled back into the running of the business. The project has been realised thanks to grant aid support from the LEADER programme, with €105,267 funding secured towards the renovation works required to upgrade the facility as well as the equipment needed to open it as a café. 

“LEADER’s been absolutely amazing, every step of the way. There’s a great team there who are only a phone call away. Any enterprise starting in Laois should really go into LEADER first to see what supports are available, if they don’t, they’re missing out,” says Martin, who hopes to expand the project to other towns in Laois. 

“If this goes well, and I’m sure it will because we’re going to run it properly like a business, our aim is to spread it out,” he says.