A vegetarian cafe that caters for meat eaters

We opened The Lighthouse cafe just after lock down. I was deeply saddened by the divisiveness caused by both Brexit and covid and wanted to  provide a place for people to come together and connect.

I chose the name The Lighthouse because “What do you need when youre headed towards the rocks? A lighthouse to safely guide you home to the heart of your own being.” and a very homely place it is. with a traditional menu people understand.

Unfortunately for us, a large number of people in Totnes made the wrong assumption that because we are called The Lighthouse Cafe that we were associated with and distributed The Light news paper which caused a big divide in Totnes and was featured in Marianna in Conspiracy land on BBC sounds.

This tragic assumption has lead to us being boycotted by a good number of people in totnes when my reason for opening was wanting to create a space of love and acceptance. very sad and difficult for a small independent that is doing its best to support and serve the local community.

Our Raison d’etra is our delicious Organic, Direct Trade, Peruvian coffee, grown in the cloud mountains of the Andes by the Mayni people, making our coffee the most ethical and delicious in Totnes.

The Mayni are indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and grow their coffee in the shade of the forest adding to the biodiversity of the area as opposed to a cash crop monoculture common to most coffee plantations.

My friend Leon of FreeManTrading has been working solely with indigenous communities and workers co-ops for over 15 years buying green beans directly from the communities he works with, Easy Jose coffee roasters , in Shepton Mallet, guarantee they will buy all the Mayni green beans, thus ensuring the Mayni people can continue their traditional way of life.

We buy our cheese and butter from Country Cheeses Totnes. We source our meat from Oliver’s Butchers and Pie makers as Oliver has visited all the farms he gets his supplies from and only sources from South Hams. The bread is from Hylsten Bakery in Buckfastleigh and Pasteries from Almond Thief Totnes, who use locally grown flour and fruit and veg from Bens Farm Shop, totnes.

Free Range Eggs are from Harold Stevens, just outside Totnes, Wholefoods from Infinity wholefood co-op

We also trade with our community, homegrown veg for food and drink from the cafe.

I feel its vital to localise and support our local communities and economies by buying local, ideally from someone you know and we have 99% 5 star reviews.

We provide free evening activities for our community offering an alternative to pubs and restaurants, after school maths club( I invented a board game when homeschooling my kids “Vapoosh! The only numbers game that counts), Quiet Games Night, Open-no-Mic, and a casual chilled place to meet friends for food, coffee and a chat.

Youth engagement is very important to me and I have trained at least 5 young (14-17) people as Barista’s, being trained by Jose Milem south west Barista champion and founder of Easy Jose coffee roasters. We also have a pay it forward scheme and superfast internet for those wishing to work

Andrea, The Lighthouse Keeper