accessibility & covid

age

all ages are welcome! we hope to create an inter-generational community space.

we recognize the barriers that many people face outside the age bracket of 18–35 in finding relaxed, queer-friendly social environments. we want the space to be accessible to everyone from young people under the drinking age to parents with young children, overworked adults, and retired people.

all queer people are prone to social isolation due to systemic queerphobia, and we know that this especially affects young people (under 18) and older people (over 65).

we have a high chair, and fidget toys suitable for children.

absolutely no ageism or queerphobia will be tolerated.

alcohol and other substances

the café is a dry space which does not serve alcohol. this makes the space accessible to people who don’t drink, people under the drinking age, and anyone who’s looking for a cosy late-nite space which isn’t centered around alcohol. glasgow especially needs dry queer social spaces.

we make the distinction between being dry and being sober. you can be in the space without being sober as long as you’re respectful.

there is no smoking or vaping inside, or outside within a few feet of the doors.

we have a naloxone kit on site. we are looking into the possibility of the café being a clean needle exchange site.

absolutely no addiction shaming, or stigmatization of people living with HIV, will be tolerated.

animals

service animals are always welcome.

on most days, all dogs are welcome. we have a communal dog water bowl.

wednesday is dog-free, excepting service dogs. you do not need proof that your dog is a service animal.

because dogs are regularly in the café, and there are sometimes service dogs in the space on dog-free day (wednesday), we can’t guarantee that the café is ever 100% free of dog hair. however, we do clean the café every night and do our best to keep the space accessible to people with dog allergies.

absolutely no ableism will be tolerated.

food and allergies

all the food and drinks served are vegan. by this we mean: no animal products (meat, seafood, dairy, eggs, bee and insect products) are used as ingredients; and we avoid all food and drink which use animal products in the production of their food (e.g. sugar which is refined with bone char). we also avoid other products which are not vegan, e.g. leather upholstery.

all ingredients and common allergens are clearly labelled.

the food is prepared in a kashered space. we do not have kosher or halal certification.

you are welcome to bring your own food and drinks into the café, with the exception of alcohol.

absolutely no fatphobia, food-shaming, or body-shaming will be tolerated.

gender and queerness

the bathroom is gender neutral, and is stocked with free tampons, pads, condoms, diapers, and baby wipes.

we know that not everyone who might want to come to the space is safe to be seen in queer environments. we maintain everyone’s privacy with café curtains on the windows at face-level, so that no one outside the café can to see who’s inside.

some of our events are queer-specific or explicitly queer-only. by this we mean: anyone who self-defines as lesbian, gay, bisexual+, trans, non-binary, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, or otherwise not-heterosexual or not-cisgender.

absolutely no sexism, transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, acephobia, or other queerphobia will be tolerated.

jewishness

some of our events are specifically jewish, or explicitly jewish-only. by this we mean anyone who defines themselves as a jew: ethnic jews (including patrilineal, matrilineal, and adopted jews), religious jews, and anyone who is seriously considering converting to judaism and engaging in jewish life.

absolutely no antisemitism or racism will be tolerated.

languages and communication:
yiddish, english, BSL, and hearing aids

all signage and menu items are written in both yiddish and english.

some of our workers are trained in basic BSL and can understand finger-spelling. we attempt to ensure at least one trained worker is present at any time.

we have live-captioners and/or BSL interpreters at every event possible. we post this information ahead of the event.

we always keep a paper and pen by the till for anyone who prefers to communicate in writing.

we are investigating the logistics of installing a hearing loop.

the films we screen have subtitles: usually english, but depending on the film and the audience, subtitles might be in another language. we post this information ahead of the event.

archived videos of our events have closed captioning in english, and potentially other languages.

our yiddish is not perfect: we are students of our ancestral language. with the resources currently available to us, we’ve been struggling to find vocabulary for things like queerness, race, and disabilities which are accurate and not pejorative. we’ve opted to use english words rather than the slurs we find in the english>yiddish dictionaries. we’ve very keen to have a dialogue with other yiddishists working on this.

absolutely no ableism, antisemitism, audism, or xenophobia will be tolerated.

lighting

the café features as much natural light as possible, and otherwise uses soft lighting.

there are fairy lights in the window which are always on and static (non-flashing).

absolutely no ableism will be tolerated.

livestreams

we livestream as many of our events as possible to ensure they’re accessible to people who can’t be there in person.

you can see our events archive on youtube.

mobility

the café has step-free access. the doors are all at least 80cm wide.

the counter is low (81cm), so wheelchair users can see over it.

there is plenty of space between tables for people with mobility aids to navigate comfortably. we aim for 100cm between all furnishings.

the bathroom is wheelchair accessible, with hand rails and a pull cord.

we have large comfy chairs with back support and without armrests. seating is be comfortable: not too soft and sinking, and not too hard.

all furniture is moveable, so if there is not enough space for you to comfortably move around the furniture, we can adjust it.

we have table service so we bring your food to you, but if there’s anything else you need help carrying, please just ask.

absolutely no ableism will be tolerated.

money

everything is sold on a pay-what-you-can basis, down to £0. the prices displayed are the “break even” cost, and we encourage everyone to pay what they are able to. we have faith in the community, and believe that this is a sustainable model because people who are able to pay more value the space enough to do so.

everyone can buy their food with dignity regardless of how much they can afford to pay. we don’t want to inadvertently create an environment where it’s not socially acceptable to pay nothing, or where each customer’s finances are announced to the whole room.

we also have a free fridge: a fridge full of free food! it is stocked daily and anyone can take food from it, or donate food into it. see guidelines about what food we can accept here in english, ייִדיש (yiddish), عَرَبِيّ (arabic), বাংলা (bangla), čeština (czech), español (spanish), فارسی (farsi), gàidhlig (gaelic), हिन्दी (hindi), limba română (romanian), polskie (polish), scots, and in images.

all of our events are be NOTAFLOF: no one turned away for lack of funds, with no means testing.

we have cash and cashless options for paying.

we offer use of the space to other groups on a free/donations basis.

absolutely no classism will be tolerated.

race

the café is in govanhill—scotland’s most racially diverse neighborhood—and we want everyone (except cops and TERFs) to feel welcome in the space.

we recognize that QTIPOC (queer, trans, and intersex people of color) and jews of color face racist barriers to accessing queer and jewish spaces.

to ensure that people of color (POC) are safe in our space, we commit to an absolutely zero-tolerance policy on racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, islamophobia, anti-blackness, antiziganizm (anti-romani bigotry), anti-traveller bigotry, and other forms of racialized violence. we take all reports of racism seriously. microaggressions are squarely confronted and, if repeated, result in the offending person being removed from the space. this is our space, and we have no need to appease racists!

we offer free use of the space to all groups, and prioritize QTIPOC groups and events, and events run by/for jews of color. we use our platform to highlight the work, art, and community contributions of POC.

most of our directors are white. our whiteness is rarely/never contested, and we are aware of our privileges and our own white fragility. we commit to listening to the experiences of black and brown people, actively collaborating with POC groups, and continuing to learn and undo our own internalized racism. we’re actively committed not only to challenging white supremacy, but to be being traitors to whiteness.

sound

we have lots of soft surfaces to keep the acoustics gentle. the music is played on low volume through stereo speakers to avoid distortion and noise. if you need the music to be turned down, just ask!

tuesday is our autism-focused day where we play soft white noise instead of music and ask people to keep conversations low.

we do everything we can to minimize electrical noise throughout the café, including noise from lights, heaters, and fridges.

absolutely no ableism will be tolerated.

survivorhood

our priority is supporting survivors. by this we mean survivors of sexual violence, physical abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse, and financial abuse.

if you tell us that someone is abusive, we will believe you and we will take it seriously.

queer and jewish cultures are fraught with trauma, and we want to support everyone (even abusers) to find community and to heal. but an abuser’s healing cannot come at the expense of anyone’s safety. if you don’t want your abuser in the café, we will ask them to leave, no questions asked.

we recognize that we have all caused harm to varying degrees. as a café, we don’t have the capacity (or desire) to decide who is good or bad. we know that marginalized people are more likely to be accused of abuse or vague problematic behavior—especially black people, trans women and trans femmes, and autistic people—and we’re not going to ban people from the space simply for being awkward or angry (we’re awkward and angry!).

if you disclose something to us, we won’t share that information, or act on it, without your explicit consent. if you’d like to disclose something anonymously, you can do so via curious cat.

transportation

the café’s address is 451 victoria road, glagow, G42 8RW.

pavements in govanhill

the pavements in the area tend to be very uneven, fairly narrow, and with no dropped curbs or tactile paving.

but, outside the café, the pavement on victoria road is new, even, and wide, with dropped curbs, tactile paving, and puffin crossings.

train

the café is a 2 minute walk from queens park train station, on the victoria road side.

bike

there is a segregated bike lane in both directions on victoria road, where the café is located. there are lots of bike racks within a 1 minute walk along victoria road. there is a cycle hire station 2 minute walk from the café just outside queens park station.

bus

there are several bus routes along victoria road which stop right in front of the café: 4, 4A, 5, 6 (all operated by first bus).

the closest stops are prince edward street, just opposite the café (if you’re heading north); and langside lane, just opposite queens park station (if you’re heading south).

there are many other bus routes within a 10 minute walk, especially on pollokshaws road.

parking

there is free on-street parking along victoria road, but it tends to be very busy. there are electric car charging stations 2 minutes’ walk from the café: one at victoria road and dixon avenue, and one at victoria road and torrisdale street.