The hugely popular Community Waffle House in Axminster has teamed up with Seaton charity Re:store to open a new branch.

Permission was granted by NHS property services to re-purpose the former kitchen in Seaton Hospital to set up 'Waffle Seaton' – a partnership between Re:store and the Community Waffle House, to pioneer a café-style community hub on a mission to fight loneliness.

The café is open to the general public Wednesday to Saturday, serving a similar menu of delicious Belgian waffles found at the Axminster Waffle House.

But the waffles are not just about food; the space will also give visitors the opportunity to chat with one another – 'have a waffle', as you will – all in a bid to combat loneliness and encourage community cohesion.

The space also includes a meeting room which will be available to book for free by local organisations.

Re:store, a community interest company formed out of the Seaton Coronavirus Community Group, will oversee the community work at Waffle Seaton, using the venue as a base from which to run their outreach work including partnering with social prescribing teams to offer support to those most in need of restoration in the community.

Not only that, but the hospital is also partnering with Axminster Project Food, who will use the café's kitchen set-up to help educate school children on cooking and healthy food.

Alongside the new café initiative, Seaton Hospital staff have also been working closely with the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to provide one-to-one befriending services and telephone befriending services.