We've been vegan for just over 6 months now and for the last couple we have been super busy!  With all the events that have been happening in Lady Bay recently we have been inundated with new customers.  

The lady Bay Arts Trail made sure that we had a super successful May and I can't thank the organisers enough for making it happen and making it such an enjoyable weekend.  There were a few people visiting us who did not know we were vegan but the vast majority stayed to give it a go and were pleasantly surprised by the delicious food on offer and the plant based alternatives to cow's milk we have for their coffee and tea. 

The next event was the Lady Bay Safari sale, which as always was a great success for the community.  

Staffing is always important when we know one of these events is coming up so we ensured we had extra help to make things run smoothly.  An event that we were not expecting though was the freestyle kayaking championships being held at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre for a week.  We were understaffed and super busy.  Linsey and I were so focused on ensuring the full cafe was served with consistently good food and drink.  Our focus clearly boarded on 'grumpy'.

During the same week we had a few bookings made and we would really like people to get into the habit of making reservations.  It means we can better gauge how busy we will be and also people who want to come and try our food won't be disappointed.  

This is the kind of recommendation that really makes us happy!  We are really passionate about our menu and we're impressed that Andy could see we were focused on ensuring he got the good food and drink he had come such a long way for!  Hopefully next time he visits won't be during a kayaking championship and we can have a better chat - probably on our favourite topic - veganism!  Andy was wise enough to reserve his table. 

​On the flip side of the immense positivity we have received one terribly negative review:

On this day we had a reservation of 22 people at 11 and had tried to communicate that with customers to ensure they were aware that we were at capacity and anyone else wouldn't be served until at least 12.  Unfortunately this person hadn't known and drove a long way to be disappointed.  We are really upset by the one star on Google though as calling ahead to check and make a reservation would have solved the wasted trip.  My reply to the reviewer:

Linsey and I are now looking forward to a well earned rest.  We've been working at full throttle for the last couple of months and are desperately looking forward to our Summer break.  We will be closed for two weeks in August to recharge our batteries.  From Tuesday 16th August to Wednesday 31st August.  We will reopen on Thursday 1st September.  Phew!

We are super proud of our menu and we hope that those who are trying it are enjoying it too.  We've tried to provide a good mix of healthy, plant based dishes and also some meat alternative dishes too so that there is something for everyone.  By going vegan we did not want to exclude meat eaters but to show them that vegan food can be delicious and a way to reduce meat intake.  

We've introduced our new tea range Woodrows loose leaf tea and would love to know what you think!

We've also introduced a great range of vegan chocolate and vegan weekend specials.  Linsey and I are both vegan and love introducing our customers to delicious food that is surprisingly vegan.  From our cakes to our pancakes why not get on board and give plant based a go! 

With a new lease hopefully being signed soon we will be here for 10 more years if our luck stays with us!  Thank you again for everyone's support!

It'll be a happy day here at Bread and Butterflies on Monday 19th July when it really will feel like we're getting back to normal.

Linsey and I want to be really clear about what the tearoom will look like from Monday 19th July so that our customers can make an informed decision as to whether they wish to dine in with us.

We will continue to display our track and trace QR codes for you to check in so that the government can track any further spread of the virus.  If you do not have the app then we will ask you to complete a ticket with your contact details which we will keep for 21 days.

We will keep our sanitizing stations until our stocks of hand sanitizer run out.  At this point we ask our customers to wash their hands in the toilet sink or bring their own hand sanitizer.

Obviously we want our customers to feel comfortable at the tearoom but we also want to get back to the way things were!  Please, book a table with us if you would prefer to sit outside.  You can contact us on Facebook or call us on 0115 9455792.

We've had some challenges, namely having to replace one of our windows which shattered.  We'd like to thank everyone for their concern regarding this matter.  But Linsey and I took it on the chin and it was just one of those things.  We'd been sensible and made sure we were insured for our windows, as we expected that we would have to face this situation at some point.  As it goes, the replacement wasn't as expensive as we initially feared it might be and didn't claim on our insurance. All fixed as of last Friday and a great job done by West Bridgford Glass.

We've been super pleased that our cake boxes have proven popular and you can still order these for take away if you're interested.  We have vegan brownie boxes (6 for £12), gluten free cake boxes (4 cakes for £10), vegan 9" brownie pizza pies (£18 each) and scone boxes with clotted cream and jam (£5 for 2).

Now, we're looking forward to Monday May 17th when we can open indoors too.  We will have limited seating available inside to ensure social distancing.  We will have a table for 4, two tables for 2 and our breakfast bar.  Let's hope the road map stays on course for May 17th and let's see the back of Covid restrictions!

We will have a range of face masks for you to purchase at the tearoom if you require one.  Prices will range from £3 to £9.  We will have our original floral face masks available at £3, hand drawn animal face masks for £6 and hand embroidered face masks for £9.

While we are only able to provide a takeaway service we have had a number of ideas of various cake and scone boxes to offer you.  Photos and prices to follow.  Please bear us in mind for something delicious for your mums on Mother's Day on Sunday 14th March.

​From the 12th April we will have limited outdoor seating.  Tables and chairs will be spaced to allow for social distancing.  From 12th April there will be the rule of 6 (maximum of 2 households), so please book ahead if you are in a large party of 6 so we can accommodate you and ensure distance between you and other diners.  At this point it is likely that we will be back to our original menu and possibly extend our opening times.  Let's hope for sunny weather!  Customer toilets will reopen and you will be expected to wear a mask when moving to and from your table.  You will also need to scan the QR code or leave us with your contact details.

From 17th May we will be allowed to have diners sitting inside and outside.  Again, there will be limited seating inside to ensure there is adequate room between customers.  The rule of 6 or 2 households will be accommodated inside if you call ahead.  We will be able to accommodate parties of 2 or 3 more easily.  As before, you will need to wear a mask when not seated at your table and will need to leave us with your contact details.

From 21st June we will have all our tables and chairs back in the tearoom and there will be no legal limits on social contact.

We do hope that all of the above goes to plan and that there are no further restrictions applied due to increased Covid infections.  We look forward to seeing you all when we get back on Thursday 11th March.  Please do pop in to say hello and grab yourself a coffee and cake!

We're currently closed due to the coronavirus national lockdown but we will be back in December, perfectly timed for a Christmas shop!  It's so important this year that you try to support small, local shops rather than relying completely on big online stores.  So, here I present you with a complete guide to what you can find at Bread and Butterflies this Christmas.  Something for everyone's pocket and truly, personal gifts that can really mean a lot.

Our best seller at the moment is commission drawings.  Both Linsey and I take on the drawing and charge just £10 an hour (plus VAT).  This means that a beautiful drawing can cost as little as £35!  All we need is a clear photo and we will take it from there.  Here are a few of the drawings we have previously done:

You can send us your commissions as soon as you like and we will start them as soon as possible and let you know when they're ready (please ensure you allow time if they need to be posted).  Please contact us at info@breadandbutterflies.co.uk with you requests or questions and to attach photos.

Our selection of ceramic products are great, affordable gifts. Starting from just £5 we have a large selection in stock but we can take commissions on these too for a specific request.  Prices for all of our products can be found on the craft tab on the website, or just pop into the shop for a browse in December.

We also have a range of fabric gifts such as tote bags, aprons, pencil cases and shoe bags.  Again, very affordable and would make excellent stocking fillers.  Check out the craft tab on the website.

For those with a sweet tooth we are happy to make cakes, cupcakes, brownies and cookies for you.  We have a large number of gluten free, dairy free and vegan cakes that we can bake, so if you have a dietry need just let us know. Again, these are very affordable and a guide price list can be found on our website by hovering on the tearoom and menu tab and selecting celebration cakes from the drop down menu.

After the year we have all had, it would be nice if we could enjoy a fabulous Christmas.  So, support small business when you can, but definitely have a very merry Christmas.

We turn 5 in October and it's got us thinking about how far we've come.  With such a difficult few months with lock down and then reopening and getting back to normal it has made us very grateful for what we've achieved.  

Linsey and I became vegans a couple of years ago and thought about making Bread and Butterflies a completely vegan venue but we decided we did not want to ignore our loyal customers that had been with us from the start who also liked what we offered.  So we decided to be an inclusive cafe and ensure that everyone could enjoy delicious and affordable food and drink with us.

As well as our own products we also support a number of other local and Notts based writers and makers in the tearoom.  This provides a variety of goods that can suit all budgets as well as putting other small businesses on the map!

Our local community is great and we support them and try and give back when we can.  We've provided numerous raffle prizes, vouchers and drop off points to lots of local charities as well as making monetary donations to larger charities.  So far we've helped Brinsley Animal Rescue, Wands for Wildlife, The Red Box Project, Lymphoma Action, Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance, Trent District Community First Responders, Nottingham Mencap, Tara's Angels, RSPCA, The Friary and Foundation for Angelman Syndrom Therapeutics to name a few. 

We hope to be around for a while longer yet and hope that we can continue to provide our customers with a relaxing venue that always serves good food, good coffee and good cake to everyone.

Dear customers of Bread and Butterflies,
​
It has been a challenging time for us all these past three months, we are all dealing with different circumstances and difficulties.  With so many people struggling financially, mentally and with being separated from loved ones I feel very lucky to have gotten through this trying period.

I have been able to enjoy this time off from work with the financial support from the government and my mortgage provider.  Mentally I have had the support of my partner, Glenn, my dogs, Milo and Marnie, and the opportunity to continue with my yoga with on line classes provided by my good friend Sarah Luerken at Stay Well Health.  I have been able to speak to Linsey and see her when it was necessary for us to go into work and have been in touch with friends on line.

A three month holiday for me and Linsey was never a plan for us and we have been so lucky with the weather that we truly feel we have been abroad!  We feel healthy and happy.  We are also going through the process of renewing our lease in Lady Bay for a further 10 years and feel good about looking forward to what we can achieve with our business regardless of this unprecedented pandemic.

Our customers are who drive us and it is for this reason why we will have clear rules in place to ensure that we and you are kept as safe as possible from a second peak when enjoying food from Bread and Butterflies.  Our reduced menu will be displayed on a board to prevent sharing laminated menus.  Hand sanitiser will be available for all customers to use at the tearoom.  We will be wearing gloves whenever necessary and probe wiping the till and card payment machine after every use.  However, there may be times when we don't get it right, we are adapting to changing needs all the time and we ask that you are patient and bare with us.  Please, if you have any concerns, talk to us in the first instance so that we might rectify our methods and do things better.  We want to get it right and appreciate your support.

Big love
Lisa and Linsey