Inverness coffee shop launches 'pay it forward' scheme
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Blend Tea and Coffee Merchants in Inverness city centre has launched a scheme to help needy customers following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Customers can buy a ‘pay it forward’ token at the café in Drummond Street which can then be gifted to future customers for a drink or snack.
The idea came out of discussions following an emotional social media post from café owner Gemma Taylor during lockdown.
"Very few people know that Blend came about as a direct result of someone close dying by suicide, and my response of changing a damaging lifestyle into something healthier," she said.
"After many years of bar work, I didn't have the stomach for serving alcohol any longer and despite knowing almost nothing about café culture, I wanted to create a friendly atmosphere where people of all backgrounds could gather (Blend, haha) and feel at home.
"The stress of trying to survive as a business has meant that message may have been lost over the years, but this break has renewed the desire to actually do something good rather than just sell coffee.
"If you are lonely or struggling, come in to say hi, or for a chat. You don't need to buy anything, but it's a decent sized, fairly empty space at the moment, where you can socially distance and still have some human interaction. If you feel alone, you are not. If you feel weird and awkward, I feel weird and awkward a lot of the time too. It doesn't make you any less welcome."
Ms Taylor said: “The suspended coffee idea is something people have asked about in the past.
“I’ve realised that with so many people keen to donate, I’ve now got a much better chance to get word out and probably help a lot more people than we could have before."
