Our youth café is a space for queer young people: a place to arrive and stay, to connect and spend time together, to learn and work, to read on your own, rest, or even go on a first date. This space is fundamentally intended to be usable without any obligation to consume — no one has to buy anything in order to be welcome here. Drinking water is available free of charge.
At the same time, the youth café is not a neutral public space, but an actively operated café and part of our organization. This is where a tension arises that we would like to address openly.
Café operations and youth work belong together
As an organization, we are subject to non-profit and association regulations. Our diversity Café represents the economic part of the organization. Ideally, it is able to sustain itself (without any intention of making a profit) and, beyond that, help finance our non-profit youth work — that is, the programs and activities we have to fund ourselves.
In very concrete terms, this means: By consuming at the café, guests also support our queer youth work. They help ensure that this space can continue to exist in the long term.
A space without consumption pressure, with fair prices
Our prices are intentionally kept very affordable in order to remain accessible to as many people as possible. Every coffee, drink, or snack purchased is therefore also a small act of solidarity that contributes to maintaining this space and our programs.
Our youth café is not, and should not become, a place with mandatory consumption. However, we do make a distinction between a space where people are welcome to spend time even without buying food or drinks, and a space where food and beverages of any kind may be brought in and consumed freely. The latter is possible, for example, within our youth group activities — particularly when they take place at the youth center or elsewhere, but also when they take place at the diversity Café space outside of the youth café and diversity Bar.
Our perspective on outside food and drinks
The consumption of outside food and beverages is now only permitted in limited cases. Still allowed, for example, are partially eaten snacks from school or university, small and simple food items for personal use, or homemade drinks such as tea brought from home.
No longer permitted are:
- large or full meals
- food or drinks purchased specifically to be consumed at the café, or prepared in large quantities
- anything that requires additional service from our team (e.g. dishes or cutlery, reheating food or drinks)
This decision was not an easy one. We carefully considered it over a longer period of time and weighed many different aspects.
Why this rule is necessary
Our café operations are only partially supported by public funding. All ongoing costs — food supplies, consumables, operating expenses, maintenance, and more — must largely be covered by us.
At present, we are facing several challenges:
- We regularly purchase food that unfortunately does not fully sell and ends up going to waste. This leads to unnecessary food waste.
- Our food offerings are currently operating at a loss.
- Overall, the diversity Café does not currently cover its own operating costs.
We are aware that this rule may not be easy for everyone and may raise questions or frustration. This makes it all the more important to us to explain openly why we are taking this step.
At the same time, the youth café is essential for the very existence of this space. Without it, we would not — or only with great difficulty — be able to cover the operating costs, and the diversity Café would no longer be available to queer young people in its current form.
We are also currently in the process of reviewing and, where possible, adjusting or expanding our food offerings.
Questions, feedback, or a need to talk?
If you have questions about the rules, if something is unclear, or if you would like to share feedback, please feel free to talk to us or reach out. You can contact us via our contact form.