Located along the Winster Mews precinct, Café Jericho has been at the very heart of the Gamesley community.  

It's been run with wholehearted compassion and commitment by Nick and Donna Rogers for almost 17 years, but sadly it will permanently close on Friday (23 December).  

Trustees announced the decision this week that it’s no longer financially viable to keep running the café - which is also a registered charity. 

“It’s been a very tough year,” Donna, 64, explained. “In March, Nick was ill with Covid and off sick for quite some time.  

“As he’s the only paid member on the project, the volunteers had to get together to try to keep the place running but unfortunately we couldn’t do enough to keep enough money coming in.  

“Because the café is a standalone charity, we have supporters who pay a small amount each month. However we just haven’t had enough money coming in to cover costs.  

“Nick was meant to be coming back on a phased return but, when we all looked at the figures, they just didn’t stack up and we were looking at being in the red in the new year and really struggling financially.  

“So the decision was taken after much deliberation to close down the café building to stop it from going into the red basically.”  

The café has been a huge part of both of their lives so it has been difficult to accept for the couple, who live in Charlesworth and celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this month.  

“It’s been very hard,” Donna continued. “We’ve seen a lot of children grow up and people who were teenagers when we first started now having their own children.  

“For me, we’ve been part of so many people’s lives and it’s going to be a huge wrench.” 

Café Jericho has been more than just a place to buy refreshments and has supported so many people in so many different ways.  

Kathy Leason, who lives in Simmondley, has volunteered at Café Jericho for 12 years 

“We’ve helped lots of young people and we used to run a football project with young men to keep them off the streets,” café manager Nick, 63, told us.  

“We’ve always had a close relationship with other agencies in the community – with the school and the nursery. We’ve done many projects over the years in the school holidays like craft groups.  

“Everything about this project has been about building relationships in the community and serving the community. It’s never been about the money, it’s always been about being there for people.  

“We’ve always fed people if they’ve had no money. Over the years, we’ve taken a number of people who have asked for help with addiction problems to rehab too. Donna and I have done personal prison visits to meet people.”  

Café Jericho has been a hub of comfort and release for members of the community in Gamesley and beyond

The café will undoubtedly be a huge loss to a community grappling with the cost of living crisis and a challenging winter.  

“Before we came the café had been open a number of years, it started as a Jericho project and Glossopdale Furniture Project was born out of that as well,” Donna said.  

“The café was closed for about a year before we took it over. We hope we’ve provided a safe space for people. One of the nice things about it is that children have always been safe to come in on their own and we’ve just had lots of age groups accessing the place. 

“It’s also provided a listening ear for people who may have come in feeling down. It’s been like a confessional sometimes but people will come in and chat things over.  

“My background is in nursing and midwifery which has been used massively over the years. It’s been a one-stop shop for all sorts of things and we’ve just wanted to help people the best we can.”  

Donna has written the couple's self-published memoir called 'The Gambler, His Wife and His God' which is available on Amazon, documenting Nick's progressive gambling addiction throughout his youth and into adulthood, and how a chance meeting in Paris turned both of their lives upside down. 

Donna and Nick with their book, which was published earlier this month 

Local residents have expressed their sadness about the news of the closure on social media, whilst thanking Nick, Donna and all of the volunteers for all of their hard work.  

As a thank you to all volunteers and supporters, there will be a special farewell event at the café on Thursday 12 January between 1pm and 3pm or 6.30pm and 8pm which the community is welcome to attend.  

You can watch our full interview with Donna and Nick at the top of the page. 

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