Staff who lost their jobs when an Inverness cafe closed after 12 years of trade have come together to try and revive the business.
Velocity Cafe and Bicycle Workshop shut to customers this month after legal proceedings were lodged to liquidate the Crown Avenue eatery – leaving staff unemployed during the festive season.
Seven days on, members of the cafe’s management team have launched a bid to save the city centre establishment from demise.
They have launched a £40,000 crowdfunder to help fund the venture and make their dreams a reality.
Hopes for revival of Velocity Cafe
Once thought of as a must-visit spot in Inverness, staff are hoping they can revive the vegetarian cafe’s reputation but under the new name, Roots Cafe.
They hope to open early next year.
In a short video and post shared on the cafe’s new social media account, River Elliott and Rebecca MacKintosh – who are behind the venture – said they hope a “new and exciting cafe” can open where Velocity once stood, with the community at the heart of the project.
They wrote: “Velocity Cafe closed at no fault of the staff running it, and all of us lost our jobs very quickly.
“In the aftermath, some of the management team has gathered together to preserve what we loved about the cafe and make it our own.
“We loved Velocity, its ethos and its customers, and we need your help to reopen its doors.
“We felt such pride in our work and what we achieved, and we don’t want it to end.”
River added: “We met here working together almost four years ago and we would love to keep our roots here, delivering great coffee and delicious vegetarian food.
“We hope to keep the cafe community centred with a great eco-centred ethos and a micro bakery within as well.”
Rebecca said the sum would help “buy the assets, refurbish the cafe and cover all the costs.”
‘Help us save the workplace we loved and the cafe you loved’
The pair said they aim to make significant changes to the existing cafe, adding a second toilet and relocating and expanding the kitchen within a larger space.
They hope the move will create more seating, while maintaining the signature long community table.
The pair added: “We know that Velocity’s business model worked. Our turnover was good, and we believe we provided something that Inverness doesn’t have elsewhere – a fully vegetarian cafe with a unique menu and different flavours from across the world.
“We also know we were loved locally and internationally. Lots of our lovely regulars have reached out to us to ask if they can help us in any way, and here we are now – please help us save the place we all loved.”
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