A social enterprise made the shock announcement it would close its doors on April 29 less than a year after it spent up to $30,000 on upgrades to its facilities.
by Lara Lauth
ASPLEY’S Cup From Above cafe will close its doors in just two weeks after a shock announcement on Facebook earlier this month.
The social enterprise helps everyone from homeless pregnant women to refugees and people struggling with drug addiction.
It will cease operating on April 29 after failing to reach a new lease agreement, organisation founder Adam James confirmed.
“It’s a bit painful but I think it will be a blessing in the end,” Mr James said.
Mr James said the organisation spent up to $30,000 on upgrades to the kitchen only last September when it expected to stay at the site for a further six years.
But now he was on the hunt for a new site somewhere between the CBD and North Lakes that better suited the cafe’s new direction.
Mr James planned to operate two distinct arms of Cup From Above. One would be a for-profit cafe with a greatly reduced role in helping vulnerable people learn job skills. The other arm would be a dedicated charity division, still based in Aspley.
“Profits (from the new cafe) will roll back into the charity arm,” he said.
The Aspley cafe turned a profit only one month out of the past 60, Mr James said.
Mr James encouraged Cup From Above supporters to drop in before the last day of trading.
