The cafe is set to open next month
HM Prison Bristol in Horfield, Bristol(Image: Barry Batchelor/PA Wire )
The charity behind a Bristol cafe run and built by former prisoners has announced when it will officially open its doors to the public.
The Key Cafe is set to open on May 7 on Bristol’s Gloucester Road and is described as “more than just a coffee shop – a lifeline for those seeking a fresh start”.
It is being established by The Restore Trust, an organisation whose mission is to reduce reoffending rates by providing practical skills and work experience to individuals transitioning from prison.
The cafe will be partnering with local and popular brands, including Single Variety Co, Canton Tea, and Triple Co Roast, and promising visitors “a space where high quality food and social purpose intersect”.
In a post to Instagram on Friday (April 25) The Key shared videos and images from a sneak preview event it hosted that morning for its funders and supporters.
It wrote: “After many years of planning and hard work, the vision has finally come together!
“We sampled incredible canapés that gave a taster of our menu from @cheftomgreen and Rise & Prove bakery within HMP Bristol.
“Gorgeous alcohol free fizz to mark the occasion from @lyresspiritco.
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“And the official ribbon cutting by @darrenjonesmp. Thank you so much to everyone who attended and supported – we can’t wait to open publicly on 7th May 2025!”
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Taking to the comments section, locals, soon-to-be neighbours and fans were quick to share their excitement at the news.
One said: “What a fantastic space! The world needs more projects like these.
“Congratulations and welcome to the neighbourhood!”
Another wrote: “Can’t wait to try this out. Hope to come on 7th!”
The news comes some five months after the cafe team confirmed work had officially started on the building, which is located in a disused Ministry of Justice building in front of the prison in Horfield.
However, BristolLive first reported on plans for the cafe back in October 2023 when The Key Cafe was given planning permission to open here.
According to its website, The Key describes how it will ‘open a cafe and retail space that will sell speciality coffees and cakes and bespoke handmade products, including upcycled goods and art produced in prisons and by independent craftspeople’.
Since then, the scheme has also unveiled its own homemade jam in partnership with award-winning jam makers, Single Variety Co. who are not only supplying the cafe but also leading jam-making workshops with prisoners.
These workshops aim to equip participants with valuable culinary skills and confidence, helping them build a foundation for life beyond incarceration. Pots of ‘Jail Jar Jam’ will be available to purchase from Papadeli on Alma Road in Clifton, with proceeds going back into the project and raising funds for the jam making equipment.
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