East London is not short of coffee shops. But one unassuming cafe, next door to a printing shop and a barber, and opposite Hackney’s New Era housing estate, has no intention of becoming the next hot spot for the artisan roast and biscotti brigade.
Trew Era cafe, a social enterprise staffed by recovering drug addicts from the area, is the latest venture of comedian turned political activist Russell Brand. Initially funded by the profits from his book Revolution – in which he lays out his plans for complete social and political upheaval – the cafe sits in a housing estate whose 93 residents last year faced eviction by a US company.
Brand gave vocal backing to the campaign against eviction, which was led by three women from the estate. In December plans to remove tenants and treble rents were finally abandoned.
According to Brand, the cafe stands as a permanent symbol of the victory of a grassroots movement over corporate interests; a place for the people of the New Era estate to gather for social and political purposes, while also contributing to the community. As he arrived on Thursday morning to officially open the venue, Brand also spoke of his vision of such venues being the vital first step towards revolution.
“Thanks for coming to this thing, I feel like a minor royal without the allegations,” said Brand as he wrestled through a crowd of more than 100. Brandishing a copy of Revolution, he continued: “In this book, I wrote about how the way to change politics is not depending on the existing political class and the existing political system, but for us ourselves to start grassroots movements like what has happened on the New Era estate … this cafe is going to be run by people in abstinence-based recovery. It’s a model which is not for profit, a fully self-supporting new economic enterprise.
“We’ll start more and more of these social enterprises. Eventually, we will trade with one another in our own currency. We are going to create our own systems, our own federations, our own currencies, our own authorities ... Politics is dead, this is the end of politics. What we are discussing now is what comes after. We have an opportunity to create something better and it will start with small enterprises such as this.”
Work began on renovating the vacant retail unit into a cafe a month ago and, at first glance, it seems to be fully functioning. Brown bags of coffee and tea line the shelves, while a chalkboard hangs next to the counter advertising the cafe’s offerings – cafe latte and cappuccino for £1.80, tea for £1.40 and juices (all organic obviously) for £4. Several cheesecakes made by Lindsey Garrett, a lead campaigner against the New Era evictions, are on sale, as are locally made jams.
However, teething problems soon become apparent. While the plan is to serve food made from locally and ethically sourced produce, the kitchen has yet to be built and, thanks to a faulty voltage breaker, the electricity keeps cutting out. “It’s a work in progress,” said one of the organisers, as she jostled against the queueing crowd desperate to get into the cosy cafe.
Brand may be considered a controversial figure but, among those living in and around the New Era estate, he is much loved and the cafe has their full backing.
“I think he’s brilliant,” said Ann Taylor, a resident who came to the opening immaculately dressed in hot pink lipstick and a blue leather jacket. “The money will go back to the community and, thanks to Russell and the girls, we are able to stay in our home, so he’s our hero and we love him. We won’t hear a bad word said about him.
“It’s an amazing thing that he’s done this cafe because he’s ingratiated himself with our community. He’s not just done the campaign and then cut and run. He’s still with us and that’s a lovely thing. We’ll make sure it gets a good turnout, and go in and have coffees all the time. This will be our meeting place.”
For Danielle Molinari, one of the women from the New Era estate who spearheaded the campaign, the Trew Era cafe is about showing they are here to stay.
“This place is about helping people,” she said. “It’s a really exciting venture and symbolises our fight over the past eight months; it makes us feel that this victory isn’t short term. It’s a place for the community and somewhere anyone can come to plot future campaigns and how we can keep making changes. Everyone’s really excited that Russell is still a part of our community. It’s all about staying together and I think it will be a core of our community.”
Even the local businesses said Brand’s newest enterprise had their backing. “Look, it is already bringing people to the area which is good for my business,” said Ozam, who owns the barber shop two doors down, pointing to the queues past his window. “There was a clothes shop there for a bit but it closed down and that place has been empty ever since. So Russell Brand, he is doing good things.”
Outside the cafe, the crowds are getting restless standing in the cold. As Brand finishes his speech and heads inside for a green juice, a hopeful voice from the crowd pipes up: “Well said Russell. Now, any chance of an Americano?”