From miners strike fry ups to veganism this popular cafe in Doncaster town center has reinvented itself

Budda bowls, avocado toast and vegan pizza are now on the menu at the cafe which was once known as TJ’s.
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The Glass Strawberry is an Eden for Doncaster’s vegetarians and vegans. Their menu is packed full of options for people with different diets.

Bev Georgiou, aged 56, from Thorne has been owner of the cafe for the last 35 years.

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Many customers may know the cafe by its former names of TJ’s and the Four Seasons but the venue has completely changed in the last year.

Smoothie at The Glass StawberrySmoothie at The Glass Stawberry
Smoothie at The Glass Stawberry

She said: “I wanted to reinvent to keep up with the times, I study coffee shops all over the world and I knew this would be the ‘in’ thing.”

Bev has been the owner of the cafe through its various refurbishments and has seen Doncaster grow and change with the times.

“During the miners strike there was a ‘pile it high’ culture in the cafe.

“We were cheap and served a lot of local men.

Table at the Glass Strawberry.Table at the Glass Strawberry.
Table at the Glass Strawberry.

“It used to be so vibrant.

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“Even after the miners strike the town centre was still busy as they had redundancy money to spend.

“The decline started in the 90’s, the thriving market and shops started to close,” Bev continued.

The new resurgence of investment in Doncaster and the current positive wave pushed Bev to turn the cafe into a modern hub of healthy food in November 2018.

Bev Georgiou, owner of the Glass Stawberry.Bev Georgiou, owner of the Glass Stawberry.
Bev Georgiou, owner of the Glass Stawberry.

She said: “I wanted to be inclusive with the menu.

“For years there were not enough vegans in Doncaster to make any money off putting items on the menu but now it’s massive and those dishes go so quickly.”

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Some of Bev’s most popular vegan options are the avocado toast, budda bowls and the vegan pizza.

As well as a range of beverages which can be made vegan with the use of alternative milks.

She plans to bring even more vegan recipes to her menu in the upcoming weeks.

Bev has always had a passion for healthy vegan food it stems for her home passion of growing fresh produce in her garden.

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An ethos which she takes into her business is she buys fruit and veg off the market when possible.

The cafe is planning on a new summer menu to launch in the upcoming months which will include alcohol and later opening times of 7pm.