Ten years ago, Jordana Chin was travelling by trike across university campus, delivering home-cooked food to hungry students. Today, the University of Nottingham graduate turned entrepreneur owns a healthy food cafe and community hub in Lenton. Our food co-editor Lucy Campion talks to Jordana about the evolution of Avocafe, and her plans to connect local people with sustainable produce through an ambitious new open food network.
Ever since my first visit in 2022, Avocafe’s whimsical logo (an avocado perched on a bicycle) has been a source of curiosity. The avocado is an obvious nod to the cafe’s focus on healthy eating, but the bike was always a mystery.
“I came to Nottingham to study nutrition at university, and during my studies I decided to start a meal prep service for other students called Nutri2go,” Jordana explains. “I was cooking on campus and delivering the meals by bike. That’s where the logo comes from – although, technically, I was using a tricycle back then as I couldn’t ride a bike!”
After graduation, Jordana’s business continued to grow and eventually evolved into something more. “We spent one year just delivering, then a year running things from a kitchen I rented on Canning Circus and another year at a yoga studio on Triumph Road. We moved here in December 2019, opening Avocafe three months before the first lockdown.”
In contrast to most hospitality businesses, lockdown presented more opportunities than challenges for the newly opened cafe, allowing Jordana to return to her roots and raise Avocafe’s profile within the local community. “We already had a delivery system set up so it was easy. I could actually ride a bike by then, and I had a car, so we were able to do lots of drop offs around Lenton. It was great because we got to know people in the area and that’s actually how we met some of our regular customers.”
Conveniently located in Lenton, a hotspot for student housing, the cafe has become a popular destination for a generation of health-conscious young people. While term time is especially busy at Avocafe, devoted customers hail from all over Nottingham, with some even travelling from further afield. Art deco cinema Savoy next door and Primary art gallery just down the road add to the area’s appeal, making a trip to Lenton worth the short bus ride from the city centre.
Sometimes people’s perception is that healthy food is bland or they assume that we only serve salads, but neither of those things are true
Jordana’s inclusive approach to healthy eating has no doubt contributed to Avocafe’s popularity. It’s the type of place I could visit with my dad – a staunch salad hater who avoids any food deemed ‘too healthy’ – knowing there would be something tasty on the menu for both of us.
“Sometimes people’s perception is that healthy food is bland or they assume that we only serve salads, but neither of those things are true. We have something for everyone, including brownies and pastries on the counter. For me, healthy eating is not about counting calories, but making mindful choices. Our health starts with what we put in our body so it’s important to know what’s actually in the food we eat, which is why we list all the ingredients we use on the menu.”
While the promise of healthy food that doesn’t compromise on flavour attracts people of all ages and backgrounds to this neighbourhood cafe, Jordana believes it’s her team’s commitment to consistency and personable service that keep customers coming back again and again.
“I believe when you do anything, you should do it really well. People return to Avocafe because they know they can rely on us and the quality of our food,” she says.
That reliability is paired with the personal touch. “We know our customers by name and their regular orders. Sometimes we get requests for things that are out of season and we always try to accommodate them. One of our customers orders pumpkin spice all year round! I always say if we have it in stock, we’ll do it for our regulars.”
When I ask Jordana about the future, it’s clear she has big plans and little fear of trying something new as she looks to continue building the community around Avocafe.
Her most recent innovation has been the launch of a new single origin coffee – she worked with local roaster Franco Specialty Coffee to create it. “Launching our own coffee has been very exciting. It was a lengthy process with lots of tastings but we finally found something we really like that isn’t too different from the coffee we were offering before. I’m really proud of it and our customers are enjoying it too. We sold out faster than we expected and had to ask Franco to make some more!”
“We’ve always wanted to sell our own products and we already have some for sale, including our popular reusable coffee cups. If you use one of those or bring your own, you get a 25p discount on drinks.”
From the beginning of Jordana’s journey into food and nutrition, sustainability has been a non-negotiable. “Sustainability is something we really care about. Looking back, we could have grown the business much faster if we had compromised on some of the choices we made to prioritise sustainability. It was very important to us from the start to not use a lot of plastic in our packaging and to source our food sustainably. Nowadays, it’s thankfully much easier to be sustainable and there’s more options for eco-friendly products.”
In recent years, Avocafe has played host to a range of events, welcoming both loyal customers and Lenton locals through its doors after hours. Jordana is eager to organise more events in the future. “We’ve done open mic nights, gigs, supper clubs and most recently pumpkin carving for Halloween – I’d love to do that annually, it was so much fun.”
And now Jordana’s role in the re-launch of an open food network (which she likens to an “online farmers’ market”) is set to bring Avocafe even closer to its community and sustainability values. “It’ll provide people with access to local produce, like vegetables, bread and dairy products, more easily and sustainably. You will be able to order everything together online, just like you would from a supermarket, then collection will be available from Avocafe on Thursdays. Food will be produced to meet demand so there will be minimal waste. We’re going to start by offering fortnightly orders and see how it goes from there.”
Find Avocafe at 1 Park St, Nottingham NG7 1RR. Open 9am - 5pm Mon - Fri, 9.30am - 5pm Saturday, and 9.30am - 4pm Sunday.
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