The owners of Café Indi at The Pavilion in Burslem Park have announced on Facebook that the cafe will close tomorrow (17 May).
However, the post also stated that the owners are “…currently in discussions with the council to renegotiate our lease terms.”
The cafe’s current lease has long been a problem. Ongoing lease problems in addition to the cost-of-living crisis are thought to be the main reasons behind the cafe’s closure.
The cafe opened in 2022 as the Helping Angels Charitable Association. It focused on employing vulnerable adults and those with learning difficulties and offered training, work experience, and voluntary positions. It later rebranded as Café Indi in 2024 but kept the same mission.
The cafe is managed by Project Indi, a Staffordshire-based charity that supports vulnerable children and adults through community social groups and volunteering opportunities.
Council leader Jane Ashworth hopes that the cafe’s closure will only be short-term.
Ashworth stated that “Café Indi has been established as an important community initiative for over a year-and-a-half, and is backed by the city council to help support people in the community across all ages and backgrounds. We are now in negotiations with the team behind Café Indi to support them.”
Experienced writer and journalist James McKean leads the daily editorial output at StaffsLive. To contact him, email news@staffslive.co.uk
