Take a tea break to help struggling cafés, urge Brownlee brothers
The Brownlees, who hail from Leeds, dreamed up the idea themselves to support tea rooms and similar small businesses which have struggled for trade this year. It will also benefit their charitable foundation, which encourages children to try out triathlon sports.
Jonny Brownlee said that despite the race against the stopwatch, refuelling at local cafés had always been an “unmissable” part of their joint routine, and that the idea for “The Cafés are Open” challenge came to them in March, when they when they were forced to swap roads, hills and open water for treadmills and static bikes.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“One of the biggest things we’ve missed in lockdown is our tea breaks at local cafés and we know it’s a challenging time for them,” he said.
“These strange times have also affected our ability to fund raise for the Brownlee Foundation, which is more important now than ever.”
The challenge – which runs for three months – was an opportunity “to get out and about to some of the county’s best cafés”, he added.
Those taking part are required to donate £30 to the Brownlee Foundation before visiting five of 15 named cafés around Ilkley and Skipton by the end of November, taking a picture of themselves at each one.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe first 500 to do so will be awarded the chance of a cycle ride with the brothers and a bundle of products from Yorkshire Tea, which is supporting the initiative.
Among the cafés taking part are The Commute and Bettys Ilkley along with Bloomfield Square, Hamiltons Café Bistro, Abbey Tea Rooms, Tea on the Green, The Tea Cottage, The Brownie Barn, Riverbank Burnsall, The Old School Tea Room, Cobblestones Café, Zarina’s Tea Room Café, The Old Barn Tea Room, Town End Farm Shop and The Clubhouse. The full list is at www.thecafesareopen.com.
Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.
Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.
So, please – if you can – pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.
Thank you
James Mitchinson
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.