An Aberdeen children’s charity is set to take over a city centre cafe and let customers choose how much they want to pay.
Charlie House, which supports children and babies with complex disabilities or life-limiting conditions and their families, will be taking over Tempo in the Bon Accord Centre.
The space was previously run by The ARCHIE Foundation on a pay-for-your-time basis. However, Charlie House will be switching things up, with a move to a new system, which has proved popular in the US.
Newly renamed ReCHarge Cafe, it will invite customers to pay based on their experience.
Tracy Johnstone, chairwoman and founder of Charlie House, said: “We are thrilled to take over the Tempo reins from our friends at ARCHIE.
“The cafe has hugely supported local charities for several years and we are delighted to carry on the mantle.
“We wanted to put a new spin on the ‘pay-for-your-time’ element and will be using the pay-what-you-want business model.
“We are asking customers to pay based on food offering and their experience at ReCHarge cafe and what they feel is reasonable.
“It’s all about community and collaboration. People can feel good in themselves knowing that their daily coffee or lunch is also supporting a local charity.”
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All profits from the scheme will go to Charlie House, which is currently fundraising to build an eight-bedroom specialist support centre. Plans were submitted to Aberdeen City Council last year for the site, set in four acres of grounds at Woodend Hospital.
The new centre will include a sensory room, library, spa pool, craft room, teen den, soft play area and therapy room as well as spaces for end-of-life care.
Bon Accord Centre manager Craig Stevenson said: “We are very excited to partner with Charlie House on the evolution of the Tempo initiative.
“Thousands of pounds have been raised over the years and we look forward to supporting another local charity. We are delighted to bring a globally-successful concept to Aberdeen for our shoppers to experience and we know that ReCHarge will be very popular with our customers.”
Tracy added: “We look forward to bringing customers a first-class service and high-quality food and drinks, with a view to introducing gluten-free and vegan offerings.
“The comfortable and welcoming space will also offer free wifi, charging points, a children’s play area, books to read on-site and to take away for a small donation, and Charlie House merchandise.
“The cafe also has the capacity to become a pop-up venue which will see us supporting other local businesses and initiatives or it can be booked privately out of hours.
“During our busy lives it is important to stop and take a moment. ReCHarge Cafe will be the space to do that within the busy city centre and accessible to all.”
ReCHarge Cafe is due to open its doors to the public next month.
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