The Key Cafe: a new café promoting rehabilitation and building confidence and changing perceptions

The Key Cafe is set to open on Gloucester Road this April. Its mission? To serve delicious food and support the rehabilitation of individuals leaving prison. Bristol Good Food volunteer Hannah Shepherd spoke to fine-dining chef Tom Green who is working with the Restore Trust to launch the project.

Head down. Earphones in. Like me you might have passed the new site of the Key Cafe on Gloucester Road without even realising that it backs onto the city’s Victorian prison, HMP Bristol.

Serving specialty coffees, cakes and bespoke handmade products the charity cafe will act as a vital bridge between prison and society, helping prison-leavers build confidence, skills and stability. But rehabilitation is reciprocal and our (dis)connect with prison life is partly what the cafe aims to improve. As chef Tom Green reminds me, ‘food brings us together.’

Breaking the cycle of offending is complex, but employment plays a large part in successful rehabilitation. According to the Ministry of Justice, offenders with a P45 employment spell within one year following their release were significantly less likely to re-offend than those who did not get P45 employment. Yet, those with convictions will face countless barriers preventing them from getting into work. 

Tom joined the project knowing very little about prisons or rehabilitation. He toured HMP Bristol’s kitchens – full of potential and skills – and found the experience ‘extraordinary’. ‘For me, it’s about giving people the chance to change the direction of their lives’, he says when I ask what compelled him to get involved. 

A joint effort

Bristol businesses such as Canton Tea and Triple Roast Co have jumped at the chance to provide the cafe with both training and produce. ‘Jail jars’, the range of jams made in collaboration with Single Variety Co during jam-making workshops, sold out in two days when stocked at Clifton’s Papadeli.

‘The local community has been amazing,’ says Tom, also extending gratitude to the surrounding neighbourhood. The team behind the Key Cafe is cognizant of the stigma surrounding rehabilitation, and following a community consultation last year, Tom is confident that the cafe will only strengthen the local relationship with the prison. ‘We have to take a lot of steps before someone can work in the cafe, so it’s mainly about breaking down the stigma around [rehabilitation]..’

Unlocking potential

From baked goods to printing and furniture, most of the cafe’s supplies will be made within HMP Bristol, including the logo design, which was the winner of a drawing competition. Prisoners can get involved with training programmes such as barista courses, baking and even beekeeping to help them hone their talents.

As Tom puts it, ‘[the courses] spark an interest, then we can do training within the prison to give them confidence to come to the cafe… It provides a natural journey for the prisoners before they leave.’ Working with food seems to be a theme across prison training offers. ‘[With food] you instantly feel a reward for your work and that’s great for building confidence’.

Suzanne Thompson, founder of The Restore Trust and The Key Cafe charity, emphasised the importance of reducing reoffending and unlocking the potential of individuals leaving prison. She stated, ‘The Key Cafe will play a vital role in supporting the transition from prison to the community, with Restore Trust staff providing guidance to help prison leavers secure and sustain meaningful employment.

By offering a structured pathway towards long term job opportunities. The Key Cafe empowers individuals with lived experience of the criminal justice system to rebuild their lives and break the cycle of reoffending.’

The Key Cafe opens in April 2025. Find out more on their website: thekeybristol.com

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