Trew Era Cafe: A Brand new enterprise?

London is proliferated with coffee shops. From cheap and cheerful cafes through to third wave ventures designed for those who like to wax lyrical about the sovereignty of origin, the English capital has it all. And now there’s a new coffee shop in town and it’s been generating headlines left, right and centre.

The New Era housing estate probably won’t become East London’s trendiest hotspot any time soon. It could have been though. Plans were afoot to gentrify the area; to raise rental prices and try and draw in prosperous clientele to the area. But those plans failed. So it seems that this run-down area of London has become home to one of the country’s most talked about coffee shops.

But it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Not to those who have been keeping up with the British press and specifically the exploits of the comedian turned actor turned political activist Russell Brand.

Brand gave his (very) vocal backing to the campaign against the proposed renovation of the estate, which was led by three women who were facing eviction from their homes under the mooted scheme.

And with links forged, Brand turned his attention to towards opening a coffee shop in a vacant retail unit on the estate. Naturally this isn’t just any coffee shop; it is a social enterprise that is staffed by recovering drug addicts from the surrounding area. It is a non-profit venture that has been funded from the profits of Brand’s latest book, Revolution.

Speaking at Trew Era Cafe’s opening, Brand ticked all the boxes. The self-promotion was evident, as was the new-found political rhetoric – he talked about this being the end of politics – but underneath everything there was a prevailing sense of hope and optimism. The New Era café and the people around it are here to stay.

“This place is about helping people,” said Danielle Molinari, one of the women from the New Era estate who helped spearhead the initial campaign. “It’s a really exciting venture and symbolises our fight over the past eight months; it makes us feel that this victory isn’t short term. It’s a place for the community.”