The Usual Place

The Usual Place The Usual Place is a unique skills academy providing life-changing opportunities for young people with asn. Registered Charity in Scotland Number: SC050602.
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Community cafe,bookable event space, flexible training rooms - an excellent, award winning and fully accessible experience for our customers. The Usual Place is a unique skills academy providing life-changing opportunities for young people with additional support needs through our social enterprise and community cafe. Our cafe, set in the beautiful former Townhead Church, is a welcoming space for

everyone as well as a great venue for meetings and events. Food is freshly prepared and baked daily to order by young people learning and training under the individual mentorship of highly skilled staff. Please note, the cafe can be very busy, especially at lunchtimes so you can book tables in advance by calling 01387 253 485. The Usual Place is the trading name for Inspired Community Enterprise Trust Ltd, a Social Enterprise and Charitable Organisation Company Number: SC412597. Registered Office: The Usual Place, Academy Street, Dumfries, DG1 1BZ. Since 2015, we have delivered education, training and work experience to thousands of young people with additional support needs from Dumfries & Galloway. The Usual Place is an award-winning social enterprise, a unique skills academy and popular community café in Dumfries, Scotland.

***Everyone is of equal worth
***Everyone can contribute to their community
***Everyone deserves dignity and respect

Our Skills Academy and Early Enablement programmes provide a personalised, structured, supportive route into employment and citizenship for young people with
additional support needs. Young people gain practical café and hospitality training, accredited SVQ qualifications in Professional Cookery and Customer Service and real-world experience. Many of the young people we work with would otherwise be invisible, excluded, or at risk of
isolation and loneliness. At The Usual Place, they discover belonging, purpose, and the chance to fulfil their potential as valued citizens who make meaningful contributions to their communities. Through mentorship in our cafe as well as a range of experiences at a special events, we also build communication, confidence, health and hygiene, teamwork, and independence —preparing young people not just for work, but for life as active, confident citizens. We focus on promoting the innate talents and capabilities of young people with additional support needs, enabling and empowering them to flourish, and challenging stereotypes every day.

The scone of the day is Mixed Fruit and Spice, and the soup of the day is Cream of Mushroom!Post created by Leah
31/08/2026

The scone of the day is Mixed Fruit and Spice, and the soup of the day is Cream of Mushroom!

Post created by Leah

Around the town, the volunteers of Dumfries Shine are getting together to help clean up the town and make it look incred...
26/08/2026

Around the town, the volunteers of Dumfries Shine are getting together to help clean up the town and make it look incredible. Our café is part of the Dumfries Shine Voucher scheme - this allows volunteers to use this £5 voucher when making a purchase here.

If you're involved in this wonderful project, feel free to pop in and use your voucher to get money off a spot of lunch, or a coffee and cake!

Post created by Harry

Today's soup of the day is Carrot and Coriander!Created by Leah
24/08/2026

Today's soup of the day is Carrot and Coriander!

Created by Leah

Today the guest scone is Coconut! We also have the Soup of the Day which is Cream of Tomato!Created by Leah
17/08/2026

Today the guest scone is Coconut! We also have the Soup of the Day which is Cream of Tomato!

Created by Leah

Liam has completed his 6 sessions in the Money Matters course! This new course aims to introduce young people into the w...
10/08/2026

Liam has completed his 6 sessions in the Money Matters course! This new course aims to introduce young people into the world of financial literacy, using discussions and activities to teach them about using limited budgets, attitudes to money including values and savings, and where money can come from, as well as a journey around town and to the bank.

By doing these things, we hope to increase confidence in money handling and searching for resources and information. Opening up young people's eyes and minds to what they can achieve with spending and saving is one of the first steps into independence.

This course is supported by funding from the National Lottery Awards For All.

Well done, Liam!

Created by Leah

06/08/2026
Ross has completed the basic food hygiene course and training offered at The Usual Place. From this, he has gained a who...
03/08/2026

Ross has completed the basic food hygiene course and training offered at The Usual Place. From this, he has gained a whole variety of skills which contribute to upholding the customer care standards we have here. He has learned about cross contamination, cleaning schedules, HACCP based rules and procedures, as well as the importance of record keeping, and good customer service - all towards accomplishing the aim of keeping our food and café safe for customers and giving them the best experience possible. He has enjoyed his sessions so much that he has pro-actively been asking to do them!

Ross was presented with this certificate to celebrate his accomplishments. Well done Ross!

Created by Harry

01/08/2026

Over the course of the next 18 months, I plan to walk from Dumfries in Scotland to Hong Kong- an epic and, frankly, quite scary adventure! I aim to average...

Heidi has done very well on baking! She made a Vegan Coffee Cake and piped the coffee butter cream all herself. Afterwar...
27/07/2026

Heidi has done very well on baking! She made a Vegan Coffee Cake and piped the coffee butter cream all herself. Afterwards, she made Lemon and Raspberry Melting Moments, making and shaping them and learning to pipe buttercream onto the biscuit. Heidi has also been showing the different piping techniques we had taught previously, recalling the process to apply it to the different selections of baking we do. Impressive and delicious work!

Well done, Heidi!

Created by Leah

Address

Dumfries

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4pm
Friday 9:30am - 4pm

Telephone

01387 253485

Website

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