Vulnerable young people supported by the charity Positive Mental Attitudes (PMA) will gain therapeutic experience thanks to the opening of Nightingales Eatery, launched with the support of the Start & Grow programme
The unique 1940s themed café, Nightingales Eatery, was opened in Pickering by Janette Hynes MBE at the end of January 2016 and is seeing huge support for its approach to support vulnerable young people in the local community. Creating six new jobs, the funds from purchases support the Positive Mental Attitudes (PMA) Sports Academy charity. The cafe also provides a place where vulnerable young people supported by the charity can gain practical work and social interaction experience in a genuine work environment.
Thanks to assistance provided by Yorkshire Coast Enterprise (YCE) as part of the Start & Grow programme, Janette was able to secure a Virgin Start-Up loan of £25,000 to help launch her business. As a former professional women’s footballer, and qualified occupational therapist and sports coach, deciding to launch a café presented Janette with a few challenges. Focused on establishing new sources of income for the charity she had founded, she readily admits that she felt like ‘a fish out of water’ as she prepared to launch a small business enterprise as a profit centre. The challenges she faced ranged from arranging significant alterations to the premises she had secured, to developing a business plan that would attract investors. However, during the 8 hours of support and a training day provided by Peter Mitchell, Business Advisor, at YCE, Janette soaked up the support and advice, and gained confidence with her business idea and its place within a charitable framework.
Janette was thrilled to recently receive additional funding from Virgin which will enable her to further grow her business. She commented, “All at nightingales are looking forward to the year ahead. By choosing to eat at the eatery you will not only enjoy the delicious homemade food an unforgettable 1940’s themed atmosphere, you will also be donating to the chosen PMA sports charity.”
Thanks to the support received via the Start & Grow programme, Nightingales Eatery has been established with growth and sustainability at its core. The outlook for the business looks positive, which in turn is good news for the charity it supports. PMA will benefit from the café’s profits and be a place where practical work experience can be gained by the vulnerable young people supported by the charity.
YCE work with a range of local start-up businesses as part of the national Start & Grow programme delivered in this area and would be delighted to hear from others looking to start up in business to see if they meet the criteria of the programme.
