Indie cafe appeals for help to kickstart business

OBAN cafe owner Joolz Goodman is crowdfunding £1,000 to kickstart her Little Potting Shed Venture.

She has just 15 days left to bring in the remaining £750 needed to finish off the vegetarian cafe’s refurbishment which needed ‘more than just a lick of paint’.

The appeal has gone out on Facebook and kickstarter.com so the wee cafe in John Street can re-open.

Joolz and her husband Russell have been working furiously behind the scenes to do much of the work themselves but desperately need the final £1,000 to get it finished and reveal the new look. They are hoping customers from the past, including comedian John Bishop, who called in last year, and those from the present and future will donate to their kickstarter.com page to help them add the finishing touches. In return people will get vouchers to the sum of their donations to reclaim in foody treats once the cafe opens again.

Joolz, who has also tweeted famous anti-meat campaigner Smiths’ frontman singer songwriter Morrissey, said: ‘We’re hoping to get to target when the page runs out on Friday April 6. Anyone who lives far away and makes a donation will get a gift or a hamper from us. Others can redeem their vouchers in the cafe. We always knew there would be gremlins and hidden costs with a project like this, no matter how much we planned, but the work needed doing and we wanted to put our own whacky mark on the place in terms of decor.

‘We are offering something a bit different in Oban. The town has lost independent shops Kitchen Garden and Nancy Black’s but we want to keep going. We just need a bit of help.’

Most of the commercial kitchen equipment needed replacing or repairing, including a leaky dishwasher. Getting new flooring halted work for a while after a supplier failed to turn up with the goods but the revamp is still pushing ahead.

The cafe, which supports Fairtrade and caters for alternative dietary demands including gluten free and vegan, went virturally plastic-free from the day it opened and has just signed up to a Zero Waste Scotland initiative, will continue to be as environmentally-friendly as it can. There are also new eco-loos with eco-lighting to help save energy.

Outside, they hope to replace two benches with tables and chairs to free up more space inside the cafe, especially when tourists descend.

Joolz is also involved in planning Oban’s first Wee Vegan Fair at the Rockfield Centre on Saturday May 19 from 11am to 4pm. To help The Little Potting Shed, go to kickstarter.com/ projects/756871463/cafe-essential-maintenance-and-equipment-upgrade