A CAFE and workspace designed in Oxford has scored a top hygiene rating after scoring just two stars two years ago.

Common Ground Café and Shared Workspace is a social enterprise pop-up in an Oxford University owned building in Little Clarendon Street which was formerly Barclays Bank.

The cafe and workspace was set up by Jake Backus, managing director of Empathy Sustainability, VSM at Linacre College Oxford, cycle coach and 'sustainability champion', and Piotr Drabik – a barista and trainer and coffee machine mechanic. They had support from Magnus Baker, a bartender, barista and furniture maker.

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The study area and social space has not always had top marks: two years ago the cafe scored a low hygiene rating of two stars after not having a working hot water tap.

Mr Drabik said: “We tried to follow all the procedures and our downfall was not having hot water on the tap.

“We had the boiler hooked up and ready to go but there was a tap missing in the boiler and the plumber took a week to finish the job and during that week the inspector came.”

Covid delayed the cafe’s next hygiene inspection which resulted in Common Ground Cafe waiting two years to improve its ranking.

Now, the business has a working hot water tap and secured five stars and is hopeful it will encourage more customers.

The two-star hygiene rating previously restricted the business to only selling cold food such as cakes with their coffee.

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However, now it has secured five stars the business has the opportunity to provide more options in the future.

The students have gone home for Christmas and the owner explained the cafe is in 'survival mode' to get through Covid.

Through lockdown, it was selling coffee outside and this year it has teamed up with market stall owners from Gloucester Green and offered them the space to sell their food.

In the November lockdown, a stall serving hot and spicy Ethiopian and Eritrean food kept customers warm while Gloucester Green was unable to open.

The cafe also had a falafel, Asian and vegan street food stalls during lockdown.

Common Ground Cafe is now open to the public and is offering coffee cakes and a space to study in a 'Covid-safe environment'.