On Mon 12th April, Guildford will welcome a new and innovative addition to its growing independent coffee scene.

The Hideaway is a brand new social enterprise café, serving loose leaf tea, expertly brewed coffee and delicious sweet and savoury offerings in a unique walled garden setting, right in the heart of Guildford town centre.

The Hideaway is more than just a destination café for those in search of a hidden retreat, or a picturesque meeting place, though, it is an accredited social enterprise with a big heart, enriching its team with young people who need a boost into employment.

Nestled inside the beautiful walled garden at Allen House Grounds, one of ten Green Flag awarded spaces in Guildford, the extensively renovated Allen House Pavilion has been given a new lease of life for the benefit of the community. A south-facing terrace allows access for those in a wheelchair as well as a place to enjoy a coffee or a meal with a clear view of the gardens – ideal for sunny afternoons.

On rainy days, the interior space offers a bright and warm home away from home feel in a plant-filled interior, with expansive bi-fold glass doors providing light and giving you that feeling of being in the park without getting wet! Whatever the weather, The Hideaway will be an ideal place to recharge before stepping back out into the hustle and bustle of life, or simply to catch up on emails whilst dreaming up your next adventure.

An initiative of Matrix Trust, a local youth work charity, The Hideaway will be much more than a destination café, becoming a unique community hub connecting the skills and experience of local residents with needs of local young people. During the day the café team will be enriched with young people working alongside our baristas and kitchen team as apprentices, gaining valuable on-the-job experience as part of the accredited national programme, alongside mentoring, a life skills programme and support to find future employment.

Once the school day ends, The Hideaway will close to the public to be transformed into a social space for young people from across Guildford Borough; a safe space to make friends, build relational connections with youth workers and cultivate vital social and emotional skills. A much needed space currently lacking in Guildford town centre.

Come to find your hideaway and you will be contributing to this exceptional project, ensuring that these after school activities and apprenticeship opportunities are possible enabling young people to develop the confidence and tools to navigate this complex and challenging world. Profits from every coffee brewed and slice of cake served are fed back into Matrix youth projects across the Borough.

Giving back to the community never tasted better!

None of this would have been possible without the incredibly generous funders and individuals whose contributions have made this possible and Matrix would like to extend sincere thanks to them all (for full details see www.thehideaway.cafe)

The Hideaway Cafe is located in Allen House grounds and can be accessed just off Chertsey Street: GU1 4HL, or Eastgate Gardens: GU1 4AY. Please see the following link on Guildford Borough Council’s website for more information: https://www.guildford.gov.uk/allenhousegrounds. Their phone number is: 01483 574900.