The Good Story Bistro, originally called The Good Story Soup, is a nonprofit organisation that was first launched at the beginning of the second Covid lockdown by a mother and her two daughters in Bexhill-On-Sea, UK.
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00:00Winter lockdown, the third lockdown of COVID. Me and my two daughters Sophia and Annabel,
00:08we have decided to make a soup kitchen, operating from our house. So twice a week we would go
00:18to local green grocers and get grade two vegetables and then create a flavour. I'm from Eastern
00:26Europe so soup is a natural rescue remedy there. You eat soup when you're happy, you
00:32eat soup when you're sad, you eat soup full stop all the time. So it was our way to say
00:43you are not alone basically to Bexhill community. We have created a Facebook page where I would
00:53post a flavour with a photo of the soup and then we would have a contactless box by the
01:00garage door for soup takers and also contactless delivery. And then it just went as wildfire.
01:09It was so well supported by Bexhill community. I was contacted by people from as far as Australia,
01:20usually those were the families of people from Bexhill asking me to deliver soup to
01:27their parents or loved ones. So it was a very cheerful story. So the COVID was over, life
01:38went back to normal and I was contacted by local charities Make It Happen and a couple
01:46of others kept on encouraging me to go ahead and look for premises in Bexhill to create
01:53something similar like I was doing during COVID lockdown. And I always had in mind that
02:01vision of a bistro, of sustainable food, of an inclusive place. And so it just came together,
02:10the stars truly aligned and I started looking for a venue. It wasn't as easy as I thought it
02:16would be because Bexhill is only small and I didn't want to take it out of Bexhill because
02:20it's a Bexhill-born project. So it took me three years to get to it. I kept on looking for a venue
02:30because I wanted it central so it should be easily accessed for everyone. The train station
02:38is just around the corner, bus route right here. And finally, after many, many different
02:46negotiations I've managed to secure this place, which used to be a lovely workshop in the
02:51past and it looked nothing like this before. So we had to renovate from scratch. And again,
03:00the plan was always to keep it sustainable. That means reclaimed wood, reclaimed furniture,
03:08reclaimed of pre-loved stuff as much as possible. So everything you see around is all reclaimed
03:16and pre-loved. So initially, the whole soup story, we called the Good Story Soup. So we
03:24decided to keep the original name and at the end of last year, I've set up a community
03:29interest company called the Good Story Initiative. So this is the Good Story Bistro. We had soft
03:36opening over a week ago. At the moment, we are offering lovely coffees and teas here.
03:44As of next week, we are offering artisan cakes, soups, that's the core of our bistro. We are
03:55still making soups of out-of-grade to vegetables sourced at the local green grocers. And every
04:03portion that we sell at the bistro generates a portion that goes in the fridge and then it's
04:11for use or for anyone actually, because no questions asked, to claim at the end of each
04:16day with the password, this special. So then I know that people here to pick up a free portion
04:24of soup. So every portion eaten at the bistro generates a free portion to pay further for
04:32Bexhill residents and beyond. We are a non-profit organisation and we are here to create more
04:41compassionate community. We are an inclusive place, sustainable place, where we also will
04:47honour local artisan crafters. I'm very open for people to approach me to sell their artisan
04:56crafts on the walls or at the bistro for other people to buy. As well as the hideout, the other
05:07room, the green room at the end of the bistro, this is the space where people will attend workshops,
05:14such as sound healing, gong bass, yoga, meditation, cooking classes as well. As well as I would love
05:23people to come forward to actually offer their skills, to share their skills, their talents with
05:29Bexhill residents.