People
Meet the Dockers: Charlie Claydon from Well Bean Cafe
Founder of Well Bean Café, Charlie Claydon on his journey to creating an award-winning wellbeing community hub and the challenges he overcame along the way.
Well Bean was born out of my experiences with mental health. I discovered there was a need for a local non-clinical space to nourish our bodies and minds, spaces for everyone, no matter the financial situation.
The journey started in my early twenties volunteering with the Samaritans, before going on to set up and fund my own free to access support network ‘My Mental Health’. I quickly realised that I couldn’t juggle a full-time job in the city alongside my charitable work, so I gave up the one that wasn't serving me. I quit my full-time job in the city and fully committed to mental health support. However, there was a problem, I couldn’t afford to fund the projects and make a living without an income. So, I decided to create a business with a mission to make positive change - Well Bean was launched in 2017.
Well Bean started as a chocolate factory combining my love for food with my passion for mental health support. We manufactured chocolate and used the proceeds to fund projects for the community. We took chocolate workshops into hospitals and worked with unemployed members of the community who were accessing mental health care. When Covid hit, our chocolate business struggled but I saw an opportunity to save it and that's when Well Bean Cafe was born. Funnily enough a mental health cafe was the original idea, so it felt like I had come full circle. We've been serving incredible coffee and luxurious hot chocolate with a side of mental health support ever since.
Well Bean is a physical manifestation of all the things I craved when I was on my healing journey. A cosy, non-judgmental safe space providing fresh food for a healthier gut. Plus, we have lots of plants, and who doesn't love plants?!
Well Bean Café is a physical manifestation of all the things I craved on my healing journey
At Well Bean Café we have proudly funded mental health initiatives since the start, continuously evolving to our community’s needs. We have an exciting weekly timetable of donation-based wellness classes from meditation and yoga to Mindful Adult Crafternoons with Colour Therapist and Happiness Facilitator, Momtaz Begum-Hossain.
We’re also home to the Museum of Happiness, a not-for-profit social enterprise who share the art and science of sustainable happiness with individuals, communities, schools and organisations.
Our café is a hub for the community to meet, eat, work and relax. We haven't forced this, the community has made itself at home here, and we couldn't be more pleased. We know our customers very well, we’ve made lots of connections along the way and have seen many babies learn, develop, and grow.
Running a business for purpose over profit makes all the tough moments more manageable. We've had our share of challenges! Brexit, Covid, cost of living crisis and a fire which required us to close for six months. I was very close to walking away, and I could have. We don’t make a huge profit to afford an easy life, but the purpose and the community kept me here.
Along the journey we have been awarded a British Citizen Award, The Prime Minister’s Points of Light award, and the Newham Business of the Year award 2018. We're super proud of this.
I’m also proud to say, we’re a London Living Wage employer. I simply don't want to run a business that isn't paying fairly. London Living Wage should be minimum wage. We have a fantastic team who genuinely care about customers. Visitors to Well Bean Café can expect a friendly face, a cosy space, nourishing food, and a luxurious hot chocolate. I know I have mentioned it a few times, but our hot chocolate is so good! It just hits differently. We use real chocolate and make it with lots of love but that's all I can say, it's a Well Bean Café secret!
Our food is prepared in our on-site kitchen, and you can get your hands on everything from freshly made bagels, to cakes, and potato pops. Potato pops are essentially mini bites of comfort wrapped up in crispy potato and served with a selection of homemade sauces.
We make conscious efforts to be more eco-friendly. It's woven into every decision we make. We're fully plant-based for starters; a commitment we made to be more sustainable from the outset. We spend a lot more on packaging and ingredients to ensure everything is better for the planet. We don't pass these costs on, because we want to be accessible whilst doing the right thing.
I live in Royal Albert Wharf. I moved here from the Isle of Dogs during Covid to reduce travel. The area has an incredible history and a bright future full of possibility. Other places in the area I recommend to explore include Art in the Docks, Café Spice Namaste, Little Hudson and the beautiful Thames Barrier Park. We’re lucky, there’s so much on our doorstep.
It would be great to see further sustainability projects in the area and even more activation of the vast amount of water we have in the docks. There are so many incredible ways to use the space for community and tourism. Let’s see floating markets, floating parks, floating exhibitions, heck, lets even float the Well Bean Cafe!
Royal Albert Wharf didn't have a space for the community, and we decided to change this. We love being here. As the area develops, more businesses will follow and big brands will sweep in too, but Well Bean will always be remembered for being one of the first!
To find out more about Well Bean Café visit www.wellbeanco.com and follow @wellbeanco. Book free Mindful Adult Crafternoon sessions at Eventbrite.
