Phoenix Cafe came to The Pithay in November 2014. Since then, they’ve provided the people of Bristol with coffee, tea, vegan cakes, and workshops and events of every kind. We called in for a coffee and a catch-up with founder Annie.

Although Annie was born in Bristol, she spent a large amount of her childhood moving between England and France. By the age of ten she had attended eight schools. As a consequence, she provides a friendly face to Phoenix Café that gets along with everyone.

When Annie settled back in England for good, she embarked upon a fashion degree. After a year she realized it wasn’t for her, and instead climbed the managerial ladder in a number of retail stores. By her son’s second birthday, the stress of Annie’s assistant manager job was taking its toll, and she packed it in for good.

Fortunately Annie’s close friend Helen was in the same boat. The pair shared a vision of a community space where they could showcase their clothing lines and meet like-minded people. From this they developed Phoenix Café.

The furnishings of Phoenix Café were up cycled from charities, donations and free ad listings, so Helen and Annie were able to start up the business affordably. They even had this beautiful piano donated and tuned:

Phoenix Café is more than just a place to eat. It’s a community space for small businesses, or anyone seeking good company. Today, Annie supports a number of traders who supply and café with food. She encourages vegetarian and vegan options, primarily so there are raw and healthy choices.

“People are often surprised by how much they love vegan food. We recently had a vegan burger day. Our burgers were made of sweet potato and spinach, with a curry flavour. Everyone enjoyed them.”

The community feel in Phoenix café is further supplemented by their calendar of events and workshops. Annie invites creatives and small business owners to her space in Pithay, where they can host courses and tutorials free of charge. Recent workshops have included a vegan cheese making course, a drawing session for children with learning disabilities, and art classes.

Every Wednesday night is board games night, which is one of Annie’s favourites.

Annie has never lost her interest in fashion. The corner of Phoenix is stocked with her own designs. She hand cuts patterns from lino so every item is unique. Allowing traders to work in the café has given Annie more time to design.

As you may have noticed, there are so many reasons to visit Phoenix Café. Whether you’re after a quick bite to eat, looking to host a course, or want a fun crowd to spend your Wednesday evening with, a visit to Phoenix is well spent. You can find them on the ground floor of Pithay Studios, Broadmead.