Vegan hangout Pogo Cafe closes after nine years
The ‘Punk’ burger, made from tofu and pumpkin, was a popular choice at the Pogo Cafe. Photograph: Tanja Schimpl
Popular Clarence Road vegan eatery Pogo Café, famous for its tofu ‘Punk’ burgers, served up its last ever nut roast this month.
In an email sent out on the last day of August volunteers who ran the café said they had been “struggling” because of “bad finances”.
The email stated: “We have some very sad news. After many months of struggling with the lack of volunteers and bad finances, Pogo has been forced to close.
“This is not something that has been taken lightly and unfortunately all of our efforts just weren’t enough to save Pogo.”
The café closed for good the following day.
What a terrible shame! Pogo was one of my favourite places in Hackney. Good food, great coffee, terrific people — it will be missed!
Good.
Only a few weeks ago I was talking to an arrogant bell end from there. I’m sure it will be missed by some. Not me though.
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This place was full of degenerates who espoused anarchism while living off state benefits (work that one out!) I couldn’t me happier that it has closed. Good riddance to bad rubbish!
I loved that place, have been going there seven years and am genuinely sad to hear of its closure.
Whilst it attracted its fair share of characters, Hackney is a poorer place for its passing.
So this “popular” place closed down because ermmmm….. it had no customers. Couldn’t have been that popular then! No wonder it closed when you think about the rather insalubrious anarchists that ran the place. Time for them to get a job I think!
To be honest I’m still grieving the loss of the parsnip chips from the place it was before Pogo 🙂
Much better when it was Pumpkins- declined further after a coup by egoists in 2010 kicked out the people who established Pogo
was doomed thereafter
Great news!
Where’s that actually interesting comment gone which gave ‘insider’ details from an ex-volunteer. I believe he mentioned the “ringleader” using the cafe to basically find new people to f***, which led to them not volunteering any more once they had felt used, fairly quickly…
The place went downhill after there was a “hostile takeover” by animal rights lunatics – who couldn’t cook – a few years ago. Before then it was a pleasant place to visit.
[Deleted by moderator following a complaint by the author of the site http://esceulus.tumblr.com/ ]
I read this comment on the site “esceulus”, where she or he says it can be posted here if shown as a quote, so here you are, I’m quoting it.
http://esceulus.tumblr.com/post/59759994620/pogo-cafe-is-closed-mixed-feelings
“If you’re going to copy & paste someone else’s opinion, make it known and stop appropriating someone else’s thoughts without recognising them
On the 29th of August, 2013, Pogo Cafe, a vegan space on Clarence Road in Hackney wound itself up.
The space wasn’t able to pay its debts, and it was about to start trading while insolvent, which would’ve landed the only person brave enough to have their name as director of Pogo Cafe ltd in the dock.
I was there between August 2011 and May 2013. During that time, I saw a number of other volunteers leave – each had their own reasons for walking away from the space.
My reasons were that I didn’t want to support a space that seemed to exist to only provide discounted/free food and shelter to individuals who volunteered there. I worked hard to make it a space that was able to promote veganism and provide a demonstrably successful model of alternative organising structures, however, I felt I was battling against an attitude of entitlement. So, along with another volunteer, we left, giving the remaining volunteers a list of what needed to be done to keep the space alive.
When I took my step away my life was better. I have time to do what I want, in time, hopefully, the individuals who were with Pogo when it died will be happy about their new opportunities.
For me, Pogo is tarnished. So many people have bad memories of the space, feel uncomfortable there and think of it as a clique – that I couldn’t see it surviving. With its death, the volunteers that spent a lot of the last two years striving to keep it open, can now bounce off with their lives and do something else.
Since May, the cafe has been haemorrhaging money, and loosing stock as a result of volunteers using the space and its food while the cafe was closed, a lack of custom – and a lack of enough volunteers to keep it open.
A new group has come forward, and will be taking over the lease – and taking on the debts. It will be vegan, but other than that – nothing is decided.
Aug 30
5
pogo cafe
Thank god this place has closed down and ringleader Jon Active can no longer user it as a place to sexually take advantage of the women who volunteer there!
Only the women? How terribly non-right-on!
What a shame, such a lovely friendly cafe!
Morton might be right but as anyone who’s walked past will have noticed Jon “Active” is involved in the new place that will soon replace Pogo too.
On his own website he admits this too ” I’m busy helping refurbish the Black Cat new vegan cafe in Hackney where Pogo Cafe used to be so please excuse our slower response times. – Jon Active” source: http://activedistributionshop.org/activedistribution.org/wordpress/?p=77
So maybe it’s not a ‘real’ closure but a bankruptcy and a new start with many of the same people with the same concept.
who is this “John Active” guy? Another benefit scrounger I bet!!!
Yeah, cos all people accued of being sex pests are ‘benefit scroungers’, right. Makes me sick.
Ho ho fame at last!
Ok so first off I haven’t claimed benefits for 15 years or more not that has any relevance to this stupid discussion but just so you know all my work at Pogo and the Black Cat cafe’s has been voluntary.
So, Michael, your bet is lost, loser!
As for the sexual accusations, I am aware of a problem relating to that issue involving someone else who was at Pogo a lot in the last two years, it is not me! as the other long term Pogo volunteers and those involved at Black Cat will confirm.
So either Morton Nook has a personal grudge against me and is trying hard to tarnish my angelic reputation or s/he is mixing people up.
None of the people involved with the new Cafe were part of the Pogo crew who let Pogo collapse but all were involved at times in the past. I was one of the folk who started Pogo. The new cafe is helping Pogo’s beleaguered book-keeper pay off its debts, so no Andrea its not a bankruptcy scam!
Either way the important thing is that there’s a new improved vegan cafe at 76 Clarence Road Hackney called The Black Cat Cafe. I’m there quite a bit at the moment, helping set it up, come and talk to me if you want. Keep it real rather than this sad online anonymous name calling stuff.
cheerio
jon
i got really bad food poisoning from pogo once. food poisoning from vegan food – gives an indication of something going very wrong.
No supplier with any business sense would deal with pogo, half of the people who ran it were on the dole and they were all mental anarchists who wanted to see the downfall of capitalism. doubt any of them could count to 10
the pogo cafe crew still run 56a which ought to be closed down!