2022 has been a huge year for PROPS so far – we took ownership of Tapestry Brewery and signed the lease on a retail space with plans to create a fully inclusive, accessible Cafe and Enterprise Centre.

These were massive milestones in our plans to build and grow our range of profitable social enterprises across the city, creating new meaningful training and employment opportunities for PROPS Trainees and other adults with learning disabilities. 

June 2022 was yet another landmark moment as we opened the shutters on the PROPS Vassal Centre Café.

It was a proud moment having taken so much hard work by staff and Trainees to get there – months of developing and planning recipes, sourcing supplies, collecting equipment and seemingly endless cleaning, painting and decorating.

Working in the Café has been a learning curve for Trainees, with new systems, health and safety, food preparation and customer service processes to grapple with. But everyone has taken it in their stride so far and we’re so proud of how our team of Trainees have stepped up and flourished in their new roles of responsibility. 

For many Trainees this is their first experience in customer facing roles and it has been fantastic to see their confidence grow with every interaction. 

With renovation work starting imminently on the Project 769 site, our much larger Café and enterprise centre on Fishponds Road, the Vassal Café is a perfectly timed steppingstone for Trainees to experience what is involved in working in a public facing café and gain confidence and skills in their roles. 

It has also been a vital opportunity to learn what working practices and support need to be in place to enable everyone who wants to be involved to access this workplace opportunity.

You can come along to the café to meet our wonderful team and sample our ever-evolving menu of homemade treats 5 days a week between 10.00 - 14.30 at The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ.

 Our menu boasts a mouth-watering selection of sourdough Toasties made to order like red pepper, feta and basil, or try the kimchi, garlic, honey and gouda!

Take your pick of freshly baked cakes including blueberry and orange, vegan carrot and walnut, traybakes like miso brownie and raspberry bakewell slice! We look forward to welcoming you soon!