Sally wakes up and smells the coffee!
42-year-old opens up cafe and store
MUM-OF-THREE Sally Bateman has launched an ethical coffee shop and zero waste store after being diagnosed with autism.
The 42-year-old, from Blurton, decided to leave her career in human resources and open Green Grams in Newcastle to improve her work-life balance and play to her strengths following her diagnosis two years ago.
She handed in her notice in April and her Merrial Street business welcomed its first customers this week.
Sally said: “Two years ago I was diagnosed as autistic and I realised there were things I needed as an autistic person that would make my life easier. Covid then came along and made me re-evaluate my life. Rather than me trying to be a square peg in a round hole I wanted to make my own hole.
“This business is really good for my life balance. It’s really helped that I can do things as I want, to my own schedule.”
Sally, who used to have a studio at Spode Works, has put her own artistic stamp on the building and everything is repurposed or recycled, from tables made of pallets to old shelves which used to hold fish tanks in an aquarium.
Shoppers can pick up cleaning products and toiletries in plastic-free packaging from ethical brands and wallets made from inner tubes, as well as filling their own containers with a range of foods like dried fruits, grains, nuts and seeds.
Many of the products are locally sourced, while the cakes come from
Newcastle-based Punx Puds and the coffee beans arrive in paper packaging from ethical roaster The Lost Barn in Cheshire. Sally also plans to sell bread from Bread In Common in Hartshill and aims to introduce a gluten-free range soon. Customers will drink in or bring their own reusable vessels as Green Grams, which is open
Monday to Saturday and employs three members of staff, does not provide takeaway cups.
Sally said: “I have always loved nature, and from a young age
I’ve been conscious of how we as humans are connected to it. While my shop is only small, it will still make a difference to people’s lives. Firstly by providing foods and liquids without the damaging pesticides and chemicals, and secondly because it will truly help towards cleaning up the natural world around us.
“Being in touch with nature, and working together as a community, is also the key to having good mental health.
“When I was younger I was often viewed as a hippy, but now the global impact of plastics and pollution is much better understood and we must all work towards creating a more clean and healthier world for the next generation.”
Customer Salwa Booth, of Newcastle, popped along on the first day for a coffee and a cleaning brush.
She said: “I love it here and have been waiting for it to open. For Newcastle to have a shop like this is really good.”