Stockton café owner uses business grant to create jobs and training

Business Start Up Scheme Helps Hospitality Lecturer Practice What She Teaches With New Community Café

A new hospitality business in Stockton has received grant funding to create jobs and offer training for local students.

By The Tees Editorial Desk · 16 August 2021

The Scene Deli café interior in Stockton. Image: Image: Tees Valley Combined AuthorityOriginal source

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A hospitality lecturer has launched a community café in Ingleby Barwick, creating nine local jobs with support from the Tees Valley Business start-up scheme. Founder Molook Shaher, who lectures in hospitality, secured a £10,000 to assist with business planning, financial , and staff wages during the initial trading period.

The Scene Deli aims to act as a community hub, featuring a café, a retail space for local crafts, and a monthly food market for regional traders. The business has also an educational component, offering cooking classes to children to teach nutrition and food sourcing.

The venture has provided employment to five current or former students of Shaher, as well as a chef who was previously made redundant. The founder noted that the helped mitigate the financial pressures of opening a business during the pandemic.

The Tees Valley Business 'Start Up, Scale Up' scheme provides expert guidance and grants to early-stage businesses, awarding £5,000 per job created up to a £10,000 limit. To date, the programme has supported over 50 businesses and helped create 100 new roles in the region.

Archive : This story is based on reporting originally published by Tees Valley Combined Authority on 2021-08-16. The original source image has been and credited.