David Plumtree, owner of Scunthorpe’s top independent music and food venue, Cafe Indie talks about how a philanthropic, communal philosophy lent to their success.
As may be the case with several people of a similar age, there was a point where David Plumtree wasn’t sure where his life was going. He’d dropped out of university, his juice bar business fell apart, perhaps too far ahead of its time to be viable (“they weren’t ready for us”, he jokes), and his jobs around bars and music venues weren’t earning him a great deal either. However, as is the case with many success stories, it was a chance happening, in this case, a call from his grandma, that set the ball rolling. “I had no money. At the same time, my grandma lost her eyesight. She needed my eyes. I needed her money, so I moved out to Scunthorpe for a while.” So, while planning the next steps for his own career, David put his gift of the gab to good use, and getting involved in youth work, something that he found he really loved, eventually supporting young people to set up their own projects in the area.
Through this process, by which point his daughter had also arrived, meaning he was now “stuck in Scunny”, he came to a realisation: “I thought “how can I make Scunthorpe better? How can I take some of what I’ve seen around the UK and bring it to Scunthorpe?” I thought if I wanted to go out and about in Scunthorpe, there was nowhere to go. So, I put all those things into the mixer and kind of came up with the idea of the café: café by day, music venue by night”, and so Café Indie was born.
Of course, given the social work aspect, it was also imperative that the café was community focused. Not only was the support of the locals imperative to its construction, but also in its day-to-day operations. “It had to be a project for young people” he told us, “So we thread youth work through everything we do. The café is staffed by young people as volunteers, that’s all around there. Not just that but the music side as well. We wanted to engage young people and provide opportunities. The age range at the gigs I was going to was all middle-aged men.”
Yet even as opening night rolled around, he himself humorously admitted he’s not one to bask in glory for too long. “a couple the guys we worked with were watching me, and I just stopped and was drinking it in. People were having a good time, and they were like “this is the moment where he’s going to realise what we’ve done and how cool it is.” Then I noticed there were some glasses there that needed collecting.”
Naturally, as David himself freely admits, trying to maintain an independent venue with such a bold remit is no easy task, especially given the semi-recent news via National Venues Trust that “125 grassroots venues in the UK shut down in 2023”, compounded with various other obstacles including COVID and cost of living. Additionally, the attempt to give Scunthorpe a national reputation, a town that finds itself as the butt-end of many jokes, was no cakewalk either. As he recounted, “We’re a tertiary market at best, so getting taken seriously and building it to the point where decent bands are interested has been gruelling. Some conversations with agents were interesting. People’s behaviour is a challenge too, giving people a reason to come out and try new things as well.”
Perhaps a less expected hurdle was figuring out the nature of the venue’s programming. A lifelong fan of hip-hop and soul, music was obviously an integral element to David, but as he put it, “It’s a bit different when it’s something you’re really passionate about.” “You think you might get easier, but in some ways, it makes it harder. You’re a bit too connected to it so how many tickets you sell really starts to have an impact on you. We’ve always been conscious that we didn’t want it to be a tribute act bar. We wanted it to be original, new music.”
It seems that overcoming these problems has paid dividends in the long run though, as Café Indie is now one of the pre-eminent arts venues in Scunthorpe. According to David, it’s also had the cool knock-on effect, albeit small, of more independently run night-time venues opening, and overall making Scunthorpe “a cooler place.” “We’re bringing people into the town centre, and then people always nip across the road for a pint, so we’re spreading the love around the other night-time venues which is cool. I think more people are interested in putting on creative stuff as a result, and I think that’s cool. We’ve never wanted to be the only music venue; we’re never being precious about that.”
Despite being more than happy to spread the love, it’s clear that the individual positive reputation of the café is one thing David is still insistent on, ensuring it stands alone. “We want to do it properly” he explains. “We look after the artists, make sure they’re paid, make sure that they get a cup of coffee and a smile and get told about the broader aspects of what we do. There’s been some projects that came through the café, and some set up independently of it are cool. We’re at the forefront of that in Scunny. So yeah, we’ll take credit for that.”
The café has clearly been successful on several levels, in terms of its prominence, and effects on the wider community. However, success can mean lots of different things to different people, and to David, the definition is more unorthodox than you might think. “One of the things that’s difficult in the music industry is the support and establishing that network. I’ve always tried to share my experience and my learning, and so a lot of people do ask us how it happened, and I’m always willing to share. We just figured it out by messing things up and keeping going. It ain’t about money, that’s for sure”
It’s also obvious that simply catering to the needs of the crowd isn’t something that interests them either, and their continued thriving in adherence to that seems to be testament to their reputation: “It is about having a wide and varied program and an engaged community. The balance of programming and challenging tastes and audiences, I think that’s success. People feeling like they belong to a community.”
Dave’s palpable optimism and bright outlook is incredibly refreshing in a sector that seems increasingly doomed to diminish year on year. With that in mind, while his positivity is certainly admirable, you do start to wonder how anyone can stay motivated in the face of constant, imminent closure. If not money, then what? While obviously staying open is important, David’s philanthropic streak helps, as he confesses that while it isn’t always smooth sailing, the rewards far outweigh the effort.
As he relays with obvious excitement, “that buzz is seeing someone who won’t speak to you when they first come in, to then seeing them on stage or performing at different venues continue their music. Watching people develop is like our primary purpose, it’s our passion. It’s why we do it.” That certainly isn’t the only motivation though, as a rock-solid sense of friendship also plays a key part: “Just having that feeling of a band of brothers and sisters who are fully connected and share that mission. That keeps me going.”
By a similar token, with a venue as well renowned as this, you’d imagine they’d have their fair share of braggable bookings, and that they do, but famous endorsements aren’t nearly their proudest moments. He does take time to shout out an early appearance by modern post-punks Sleaford Mods though, even if the venues ramshackle appearance begged the question “what the fuck are they doing here?”
Instead, the thing that seems to fill Dave with the biggest sense of joy is seeing just how much the café impacts the lives of the very people they seek to employ, watching them go from the lowest lows to prosperous highs. “Seeing a kid who’s been criminally exploited since the age of 13 go on to study music at uni, that’s a plus for me. That’s as good as Sleaford Mods playing.”
It seems that a lot of venue owners could learn a lot from Cafe Indie’s success. The importance of community, combined with its trailblazing attitude towards social work, and diverse musical repertoire, has given it a positive reputation unlike nearly any other venue in the UK. So, before he heads off, Dave sees fit to impart some of his winning wisdom onto his peers in the industry. “Give us a chance. Come and see what it’s all about. I think the model that we stumbled across is the perfect model for how music venues should be developed.”
“In every music venue up and down the country, you’ve got musicians working behind the bar who would love doing stuff with music, and so they can do it with other young people. You must make sure you’re reaching out to young people that will fill your venue and come to stuff. That focus on young people I think is something that I’d encourage venues to do more. Come talk to us if you want to know how we did it, we’ll tell you. We’re more than happy to.”
