Shoreditch based Imaginary Café Serves up platters of nothing
by Startacus Admin
Well it was only a matter of time wasn't it? What with cereal only cafés and crisp sandwich restaurants making the headlines lately, no one was surprised to hear of the launch of the most alternative eatery yet to hit the UK high street.
'Imaginary Café' has the spurious accolade of being the first UK café to specialise in the serving of...absolutely nothing.
Yes, hungry hipsters and fashionable foodies of Shoreditch can pop into Imaginary Café, take a load off, and tuck into a mouthwatering feast of lovingly prepared nothing. The exciting menu includes the café’s own special creations
'all you can eat nothing', 'nothing and no veg' and 'I can't believe its not something'.
"I think the café is managing to meet a real need that exists here in Shoreditch at the moment" explained café proprietor Alan Charloutaine. "More and more when people go out to eat, it's got nothing to do with food, it's about embracing innovation, quirkiness, fashion, entrepreneurialism, innovation and innovative entrepreneurialism".
From the 1000 strong queue forming outside the café’s shop front on a freezing Monday morning, it's clear that the idea is a big hit with the young trendy upwardly mobile types. "I think it's great! I mean, we are are always being told that less is more so surely nothing must be the most, right?" said one heavily bearded 22 year old who claimed to have been queuing for just over a week.
Inside the café, the wall paper pasting tables and reclaimed primary school chairs are crammed with happy diners, loudly congratulating each other on their individuality and praising the owners for their originality "It's a great way to support the local economy" said one diner, as he placed a napkin on his lap and began happily tucking into an £8 bowl of 'French nothing soup'.
"It's that nostalgic feeling you get" said another, clutching a bright pink stuffed care bear "it just takes me back to my childhood and having imaginary tea 
parties with my imaginary friends. I mean, just because we get older doesn't mean that we have to take a rational approach to life... this isn't the 90's! #ForeverYoung"
As Alan busied himself getting ready for the lunchtime rush I asked him what he thought about some of the criticisms that have been levelled at the café over its concept and pricing, to which he replied "Haters gonna hate and if you can't afford it, you wouldn't understand".
When I asked him what his big plans are for the future of Imaginary Café he replied:
"That's easy; absolutely nothing!"If you like this recent news - you might also like to read that Research shows having a beard increases your Startup success by 86%
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Sid Madge, founder of Meee shares his tips on starting as you mean to go on, by getting the very best from your staff in 60 seconds
Transforming how we consume fashion - By Rotation is a peer-to-peer fashion rental app that will empower you to do good for your wardrobe, your wallet and planet
Bwalya Kasase, Business Process Consultant at Rebel Energy shares insights on how the renewable energy supplier uses digital workers to improve the customer experience
Peppy secures major investment to help scale its existing menopause, fertility, pregnancy and early parenthood support, and support the introduction of a range of new services.
One Year No Beer, the alcohol-free support service fundraises to scale its business following reports indicating huge surge in alcohol-related deaths since Covid.
The lowdown on Junk Kouture, the Irish-based global platform that's on a mission to unleash the creative brilliance of young people
Considering selling your startup's tech innovation to the healthcare industry? These tips from Evelyne Priestman, Health Economist, Health Enterprise East should help...
Wilton London exceeds crowdfunding target to support its aim of becoming the UK’s number one eco household cleaning brand
TestGorilla is a startup that's on a mission to help you identify the best candidates and make your hiring decisions faster, easier, and bias-free
Major investment for her1, the digital health impact company that's dedicated entirely to female wellbeing...
Published on: 15th January 2015
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Peppy Raises £6.6M for its digital health platform 27th Jul 2021 Peppy secures major investment to help scale its existing menopause, fertility, pregnancy and early parenthood support, and support the introduction of a range of new services.
- One Year No Beer launches new £500K crowdfunding campaign 26th Jul 2021 One Year No Beer, the alcohol-free support service fundraises to scale its business following reports indicating huge surge in alcohol-related deaths since Covid.
- Smart Nano NI awarded £42.4m funding from UKRI 22nd Jul 2021 Major boost for the NI economy as nanotechnology consortium, Smart Nano NI awarded £42.4m by the Strength in Places Fund to support development of new technology for medical devices, communication and data storage.
- Ntropy Raises $3.2M for its innovative data platform 20th Jul 2021 Ntropy secures major investment to help with expansion of its team, support market growth and future product development.
