Common Ground pop-up cafe closes after summer, donates to Whanganui youth

Ridgway Street Pop-up was brought to life over the summer with street food and outdoor games.

The hustle and bustle that could be found all summer long down Ridgway St has wrapped up for winter on a high.

The Common Ground, a non-profit cafe situated on the unused ground at 45 Ridgway St in a renovated shipping container, opened in late November with the aim of giving locals the taste of organic fair-trade products and a supportive work experince for youth.

Paul Fletcher, who ran the cafe, said it had been an overwhelming success.

"We are so grateful to everyone that has helped make The Common Ground Pop-up a success, especially our young people and our customers," he said.

"It has provided over 850 hours of work experience to young people, with three, hopefully soon to be four, successfully transitioning into further training or paid employment."

More than 180kg of organic fair-trade certfied coffee and $1500 of other organic fair-trade certified ingredients were used in drinks and baking which Fletcher said benefitted vulnerable producers around the world.

"Thanks to the wonderful support of Whanganui residents, The Common Ground has made a profit and will be distributing more than $1000 to local youth organisations."

Along with The Common Ground the space was filled by Slim's food truck and outdoor games such as table tennis, giant Connect 4 and giant Jenga.

Fletcher said that together with Slim's and Whanganui Town Centre Rejuvenation it had brought the Ridgway Popup space alive.