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Audio clip 9 available here on audio player.
River Exe Café owner Paul Craven was born in Exeter and has always been on the estuary, while colleague Laura Purdue can’t picture a life away from the water’s edge. The custom built café floats on the river itself, accessible only by boat. Constructing a café in the middle of a river takes true entrepreneurial spirit, and keeping a good eye on windy weather to keep everyone comfortable and safe on board. Together, Paul and Laura reflect on the joys of working for an independent business, and how they both find life away from the water unimaginable.
This trail marker is situated on the railings outside the River Exe Café offices.
What 3 Words: ///tradition.paraded.tame
Laura: I’ve always been drawn by marine places, always lived in marine places, coastal communities. For me, I can’t imagine myself not living somewhere that’s so close to water, so for me, yes.
Paul: Yes, and it’s similar, I live here because of the water. I lived on a boat for 10 years, prior to moving on land. I’ve only been on land for four years. Prior to that I was on land before on the boat, but I always wanted to live on a boat. I’ve done that tick a box and, again, family comes along and things change. Had to move on land, but we are still on the water every day. Maybe not all of us as a family, but certainly I’m here every day, either here or up river at Topsham, or in Exmouth or somewhere around. It’s just being involved with the water. I was marine engineering for, I’m trying to think, 12 years while I was setting up the café. Within that skill set, you get to learn how things work a bit more on the river and how the river works. Also, because I was boating, I would then get more experience from going to other rivers and then trying to bring some of that back into the River Exe, thinking, “It’s a good idea. We should do that. We should try that.” It’s always been about the water for me and if I go on holiday, I go away on a boat.
I’d then moved onto my boat that I bought and decided that, wouldn’t it be a great thing if there was a café in the middle of the river so when I’m out wakeboarding, I can have a bit of pasta salad and a burger and then the café idea sort of spawned. It was with a friend of mine at the time, he was doing a wakeboard business. He wanted to develop and push that and I wanted to have a bit of a café thing. The two of us worked hand in hand and we made the beginnings of what the River Exe Café is.
The weather plays a big part of operating this business. There’s no doubt about it. There is times in the year we have to shut because; you’re never unsafe on the café. It’s a 100-ton structure. It’s fine. Yes, it wobbles around a little bit, it’s like being on a ship at sea. But for us, we have smaller boats that come alongside and if there’s an hour where we go “Hmmm could my mother walk up those steps comfortably? No, well, it’s not safe for anybody then.” We close it down. It can be really windy but if it’s coming from the west, no problem. It can blow a hoolie. But if it’s coming from the east, well hang on a minute, we’ve got to think about that because of the way the boats land on the pontoon. It does play a part.
If it had stayed at docks, I don’t know, what would I be doing? I don’t know. Running a ship, driving a crane, I haven’t got a clue. Like you say, one thing leads to another and it’s all the time I suppose I feel I’m seeking opportunity.
Laura: You’re very entrepreneurial though. I think whatever you would’ve been in, you would’ve always found something to scratch an itch or do something a little bit different.
I don’t know what I would do differently again, if someone asked me. It’s really difficult to know that. I’ve worked, seen it both sides. I’ve worked for a big organisation, like a charitable sector, and you just get lost, and your voice isn’t heard. When you work for a small independent, you are listened to, your values are appreciated and you feel like you can have real change.
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