A small care home in Taunton which specialises in helping people with dementia has opened a special cafe for residents.

Dementia Café, which will open on Thursdays from 11am until 3pm, allows members of the public with dementia and their carers to enjoy socialising with others in a relaxed atmosphere. 

The home has built a shelter that almost looks like a barn and called it ‘Al Mosta Barn Café’.  Inside is a full-size caravan and a selection of outdoor seating. The coffee shop itself has a sweet shop, a Mr Whippy ice cream machine, and a barista coffee machine - offering fresh cream teas on Thursdays.

On the last day of school, the home opened the coffee shop to the local primary schools in the area offering free Mr Whippy ice creams and freshly made popcorn to the children to celebrate their last day of school.

Mum Hannah Prickett said: "We absolutely loved this. Such a fantastic idea and my two loved it."

Katherine Hoare said: "Such a generous thing to do. We always enjoy taking part in your community events. My two loved their little boxes of popcorn.

Joanne Knight said: "Thank you very much. The boys really enjoyed it. What lovely gardens you have."

The cafe is the latest in a series of idea the care home has come up with for its residents and the commnunity.
Before lockdown it opened the The Cock & Bull pub which remained legally opened all the way through the pandemic for the residents.   Then they opened an outdoor bar called ‘Wish you were Beer!’ when restrictions allowed socially distanced visits in the garden.  This gave relatives the opportunity to stand at a safe distance behind the bar but made the visits fun for everyone. 

They also fundraised and bought a Tuk Tuk which they used for social distancing home visits for residents when restrictions allowed the residents to go out and about and now, they are being innovative again and opening their own.