40ft Shipping Container Cafe in Manchester’s Park

Brewing Community: Grounded MCR’s Eco-Café Transforms Cringle Park 🌿

In the heart of Levenshulme’s Cringle Park, a vibrant new café has emerged—not in a traditional building, but within a creatively repurposed 40-foot shipping container. This innovative space is the brainchild of local duo Kerry and Nat Lobel, founders of Grounded MCR CIC, a social enterprise committed to community well-being and sustainability.

From Trike to Trendsetter

The yellow coffee trike that started it all – Photo by Jake Lindley.

Grounded MCR began its journey in 2021, serving coffee and cakes from a cheerful yellow trike affectionately named after Moira from Schitt’s Creek. Their mission was simple: to provide a welcoming café space in local parks for families and visitors. Over the years, their mobile café became a beloved fixture in Cringle Park and Platt Fields, offering not just refreshments but also training opportunities for vulnerable adults and young people.

Shipping Containers: Sustainable and Stylish

The new café, housed in a refurbished shipping container, exemplifies sustainable innovation. Repurposing shipping containers reduces construction waste and carbon emissions compared to traditional building methods. These containers are incredibly versatile, allowing for easy customization to fit various configurations and needs. Grounded MCR’s café features a green roof, vertical allotments, and vibrant murals by local artist Laurie Pink, seamlessly blending with the park’s natural surroundings.

Nat and Kerry set up the business four years ago in response to a lack of social spaces in their local park, photo by Jake Lindley.

A Menu Rooted in Sustainability

Emphasizing environmental consciousness, the café collaborates with FareShare to incorporate surplus food into its menu, reducing food waste. Dishes like vegan spanakopita and mac and cheese garnished with homegrown cress showcase their commitment to delicious, sustainable dining. The ever-evolving menu ensures fresh and exciting options for every visit.

Empowering the Community

Beyond serving food and drinks, Grounded MCR is a hub for community empowerment. They offer barista training programs for young adults aged 18 to 24, including those with special educational needs, and provide employment opportunities for individuals experiencing anxiety. Their inclusive approach fosters a supportive environment where everyone can thrive.

cafe serves cakes coffee and meals made using surplus food from Fareshare — The café serves cakes, coffee, and meals made using surplus food from Fareshare – photo by Jake Lindley.

Cringle Park: A Community Gem

Cringle Park, nestled near Levenshulme High School on Errwood Road, is a cherished green space featuring children’s play areas, sports courts, and the unique “Levyhenge” stone circle. Managed by Manchester City Council, the park has seen significant enhancements, including upgraded tennis courts, outdoor gym equipment, and improved landscaping. The addition of Grounded MCR’s café further enriches the park, offering a welcoming spot for relaxation and community gatherings.

Grounded MCR’s innovative café in Cringle Park is more than just a place to grab a coffee—it’s a testament to sustainable design, community engagement, and the transformative power of repurposed materials. By turning a shipping container into a vibrant community hub, they’ve brewed a recipe for positive change that’s both inspiring and delightful.

Inside the new Grounded MCR café in Cringle Park.

What they had to say…

Honestly, it’s been the biggest labour of love. When we started during the pandemic, it was just a way of trying to help out the community’s collective mental health and it’s just grown into something much bigger since then.

We always wanted to have a café and a permanent base with what we do and to be able to continue to train more vulnerable people, but there was never really an envision that it would become this.
…Nat told a local Newspaper.

Everybody wants a bit of a connection and a nice brew, don’t they? But I really didn’t think we’d be at the point where people would literally be banging down the door on our day off. How nice is that, you know? we just feel incredibly privileged.
Nat went on to say:
We’re just hoping for some festival vibes here in south Manchester, and we’ve had that already just on our first day. It’s taken a lot of wrangling back and forth to get to this point but it feels so good to finally be open.

We’ve got loads of beautiful planters and trees that are already growing and it’s just an attempt to make the park more visible and also be as environmentally-friendly as we can be.

It’s felt like quite a long time coming,” Cllr Craig said at the event. “It has probably been about three-and-a-half years in the making. We’ve seen the park going from strength-to-strength, particularly coming out of the pandemic, people really do value the park locally.

Kerry added at the event:

It has been a long ride, it started in lockdown and we were in this park everyday with our two children and we thought it would be really nice to have somewhere to get a brew. So, we came to the council and said ‘can we have a café?’ because everyone always asked us about having one and they said yes. Judging by the last few weeks before we’ve opened, it’s shown to us that this is absolutely needed and is definitely what people wanted.

Kerry and Nat said that the response to the initial launch of the café has also highlighted to them how something like this can be replicated in any of the 144 parks located in Greater Manchester.

Nat concluded:

I really hope that this is something that can be rolled out all across Greater Manchester because it feels like there is such a need for it, Not only when it comes to an accessible toilet space, but also for a café or a space where people can just hang out. It just all comes back to that basic human need for connection. If something like this can happen elsewhere, that would be really brilliant and I do think that Manchester City Council are up for making it happen. For us, it’s just about being quite brave and rolling with our ideas and getting everyone to come on board for the ride.

This has just turned into something that is exactly what we wanted and, honestly, how nice is it that we get to work somewhere that doesn’t even feel like work, you know? It’s just one big laugh riot, it’s absolute jokes all the time. It’s been a wild ride so far and we’re looking forward to just having people keep coming back time and time again.

…Nat said.

We want to grow as much as we can and there is loads of potential for big events and collaborations with local groups and businesses. That’s the dream.

The Grounded MCR café is open at Cringle Park everyday – except for Wednesdays – from 10am to 4pm. Cringle Park is on Crossley Road, Levenshulme, M19 2QP.

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