The team behind the popular Earth Friendly Rocker shop have launched a brand-new cafe on the third floor of Afflecks. Potion is now open and everything on its all day menu has been created with four ‘magic ingredients’ - local, sustainable, vegan friendly and affordable.
Operating alongside the Afflecks working day, Potion will be open for breakfast from 10:30am, when Manchester’s independent shopping emporium opens, followed by lunch and drinks served all day long to refuel hungry shoppers and traders until closing time. Potion café is a bright open space with an earth friendly green and vibrant pink colour scheme, and plenty of space and gorgeous comfy chairs and sofas.
Customers can create their own hearty start to the day with The ‘Hocus Pocus - build your own breakfast’ from a selection of vegan and non-vegan items on the menu. Handmade sandwiches made with freshly baked bloomers are also on offer as well as delicious cakes and brownies.
The menu will soon include hot dishes too with a particular focus on minimising both food and other waste. Most dishes will be vegetarian or vegan although there will be non-vegan choices on the menu too. Ingredients will be sourced as locally as possible from independent businesses, and, as you’d expect from the creators of the Earth Friendly Rocker brand, every effort will be made to ensure ingredients and packaging is as earth friendly and sustainable as possible.
As the new café has been created by an Afflecks trader, the Potion menu promises discounts for fellow Afflecks businesses, ensuring that talented indie entrepreneurs on site have a welcoming, affordable space to refuel. With over 60 independent traders operating at any one time – from tattoo artists to fashion boutiques - it is a hive of creativity and a safe space for independent entrepreneurs, artists and makers to start out, experiment and grow. Owner Lauren will also be offering a delivery service to traders on site too.
Spread over three floors Afflecks' impressive, bohemian, maze-like environment is perfect for exploring and has become famous the world over. Lauren Hutchinson, owner of Earth Friendly Rocker - Afflecks’ first ever zero waste shop - has been trading on the 3rd floor since August 2019.
“Potion has been developed with a unique insight into the whole culture of Afflecks and an understanding of the needs of the Afflecks community,” says Lauren. “From the menu to decor it fits in perfectly with the Afflecks building - it’s about us being able to expand our zero-waste, sustainable lifestyle approach to the eating and drinking element of the building, something which we know is important to the Afflecks audience and businesses.
“We think our menu will really appeal to the customer base, and the cafe will provide a great spot to relax and enjoy good food and drink. Whether it’s shoppers at Afflecks or people just popping to visit us there will be comfy chairs and great food and drink waiting for them!”
Kerry Rooms, Retail Operations Manager at Afflecks, added: “We are really pleased to welcome Lauren’s Potion Cafe to our third floor cafe space at Afflecks. It fits perfectly with our ethos of creating sustainable opportunities for our Afflecks shoppers and traders alike and it’s wonderful to have an existing trader bring their knowledge and passion for the Afflecks community to the table. We’re delighted to support Lauren in this exciting new chapter for her brand - her Earth Friendly Rocker shop has been a real asset to the building and we can’t wait to see how she brings those same values to our cafe space.”
Potion will be open 10:30am - 6pm Monday - Friday and 10am - 6pm on Saturday.
Food will be served up until 5pm and drinks right through to close.
Poison Café, 3rd Floor, Afflecks, 52 Church Street, Manchester, M4 1PWImage credit - Jodie Hartley