Former Art & Soul owners back in St Neots as All About Soul

Tim and Caroline Richardson, who used to run the Art & Soul Café until May 2024, have joined forces with the Citizen Hub to launch their new venture, All About Soul.

All About Soul will be different to Art & Soul, not only as it is no longer in the "same quirky building", said Tim.

However, Tim and Caroline still have the same vision for their new venture, which is a Community Interest Company. 

Tim and Caroline's vision is to bring soul to St Neots. (Image: Tim Richardson) Tim said: "Our intention is to help create a warm and welcoming space in the Citizen Hub both for people who want to drop in for a coffee and scone, and for those people who are meeting with the many different groups as part of the work of Citizen Hub.

"So expect the same friendly welcome for sure, and…some comfy chairs!"

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They will be running a limited food menu for now, but the pair said the encouragement from the community is helping them build momentum quickly.

Tim and Caroline have partnered with Alex Hughes, who runs the Citizen Hub in the town.

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Speaking about their collaboration, Tim said: "Occasionally I think we must be mad, but as we talked to Alex Hughes and the folk at Citizen Hub, it became clear that we share the vision to make a difference to many people in the town – young and old.

"Alex asked us if we would be interested in helping the new iteration of Citizen Hub in this innovative partnering format, and we could see how offering hospitality could be really helpful.

"It creates a welcome feel to the venue – adding soul to the place in our unique way, but also, we can support the colleges who are partnering with the Hub by offering training for younger and older people in all the skills involved in our kind of operation, and not just in barista training and opportunities to develop catering, but by building confident communication skills, team working, organising events and planning."

All About Soul has had a strong start to the year. They have a monthly vinyl club and are now home to the St Neots Jazz Club. They are also hoping to launch R&B nights and restart their vegan nights and other themed evenings.

They have hosted several themed nights. (Image: Tim Richardson) Tim has teased future events including well-being workshops and open-mic events.

Their break from the high street was brief but a "lovely rest". Tim and Caroline said the pressure had built up for finances for Art & Soul so it was a "relief" to make the decision.

Now, they are ready to hit the ground running for 2025.

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