Would you like to run Ort Café?

Space has become available in the space housing Ort Cafe.  The Old Print Works are looking for a new tenant.  If you think that it may be up your street then read on…

This might be the opportunity of a lifetime for you. The owner of Ort Cafe is moving on to new ventures and so The Old Print Works have a lovely space becoming available for you to make your mark. There is no better time to take the plunge as Balsall Heath is changing. With increasing confidence that Moseley Road Baths can be saved, the Moseley School of Art refurbishment complete and The Old Print Works slowly filling up, many things point in a positive direction towards a thriving creative community.

The space

  • The space is approximately 580 sq ft and is on the ground floor at the front of the building. This is a prime main road position with over 15,000 vehicles passing the cafe every day.
  • The cafe is in the heart of Balsall Heath and is easily accessed by the No 50 bus every 4 minutes from the city centre/Moseley. There is also plenty of cycle parking.
  • The space has planning permission for A4 use. It has been used as a cafe-bar. We assume a new licence for alcohol sales and music would be easily obtainable given its use class and its previous licence.
  • There is a small kitchen within the space itself which has previously been scored at a level 4 by Environmental Health.
  • The cafe has direct access to shared toilets in the basement. Unfortunately we do not have a formal disabled toilet but a wheelchair user could be accompanied to some toilets on the ground floor. We are hoping to install a disabled toilet in the front of the building in the next 2 years.
  • We are aware of the costs of setting up a business so we would be aiming for a rent of circa £500/month plus services fee – perhaps less in set-up mode and a little more after your business model is established. We believe this is below what the commercial rate would be.
  • There is potential in the medium term for expansion and we would be happy to talk about that.

What we are hoping for

  • We want a daytime cafe open at least 5 days a week and preferably more. If you want to add evening openings that is great.
  • We want a lovely, warm and friendly space that serves and enhances both The Old Print Works internal community and also the wider community of Balsall Heath.
  • One of our charitable aims is about environmental sustainability, so would welcome an an emphasis on vegetarian/vegan cuisine, local sourcing, etc.
  • We want you to think about how your cafe can help deliver some of our charitable aims by providing a welcoming and inclusive first point of contact to The Old Prints Works as well as, eventually, a range of community-focused events with a social impact.
  • We would ideally like the cafe to be run as the Print Room or Ink Room cafe or some other name that strengthens the overall brand of The Old Print Works.
  • We welcome proposals that allow for pop-ups from different users as long as there is one person or organisation taking the lead. There has been interest from some friends of The Old Print Works to share in the running of the café, but we are happy to hear your proposal to run it completely yourself if you prefer.

You should be

  • Realistic about what you can achieve especially if you are a sole trader. We can talk to you more about this.
  • Experienced in cafe/bar management or able to convince us that you have what it takes to launch something new and make it a success.
  • Visionary and keen to help strengthen the offer at The Old Print Works.

We will be arranging for people who have expressed an interest to have a look at the space on Saturday 5th January between 12 and 2pm.If you are interested then you can find out more details, complete the expression of interest form and 

If you are interested then you can find out more details and complete the expression of interest form over on the Old Print Works website.