Dottie's Cafe will be the first of its kind in Brighton.

Brighton has always had a strong community spirit and this is set to be enhanced with its latest cafe opening. Dottie’s Cafe, the town’s very first sign-language cafe, will open in East Brighton Park. All the staff will be deaf and customers will be able to order in British Sign Language, as well as menus being in braille.

The cafe aims to tackle some of the community problems facing Brighton today, such as food waste and food poverty. Cupcake Shake, a business run by teens and offering young people work experience will have a stand selling cupcakes.

There will also be a huge and varied amount of classes available. Refugees can improve their English skills, there will be tutoring available for children who don’t attend mainstream school, and there will be the opportunity to learn British Sign Language. The deaf community will also benefit from driving theory and computer classes led in BSL.

The project has used Crowdfunder in order to raise funds for kitchen equipment and other necessities and has so far raised just under £1000. Founder Ruthanne Garrett has big plans for the centre, including special ‘pop-up chef’ evenings and wanting to turn the venue into a communal space for people to feel free to come and relax.

To help fund Dottie’s Cafe visit their Crowdfunder page.