Mushrooms meet coffee at new Oswestry Cafe

Located in the heart of Oswestry in the Grade II listed former Dorothy Perkins building, Shrooma is the passion project of dynamic duo Alex and Paul Murray, whose love for mushrooms and wellness has come together to create this unique community hub.

Thanks to a £5,000 funding boost from Oswestry Town Council’s ‘Breathing New Life into Empty Properties Grant’, it helped kickstart their dream into reality. With their background in property development, Alex and Paul have restored the historic building to its former glory after it lay empty for three years.

All mushrooms included in Shrooma’s menu will be grown upstairs in the ‘urban farm’. At full capacity, Shrooma can house 7,000 fruiting blocks, and produce half a tonne of mushrooms per week. The mushrooms are sustainably grown and managed by long-time friend and eco-expert Matthew Rowe, who has two decades of experience in environmental activism.

Alex Murray, café manager, Shrooma, said: “We’ve always wanted to create a place where people can experience the natural, healing properties of mushrooms in a fun, accessible way.”

Paul Murray, co-founder, Shrooma, said: “Growing up, I would go foraging for mushrooms with my dad, and that passion has stayed with me. Now, we’re bringing that love of mushrooms to the public, in a space where people can learn, relax, and enjoy something truly unique.”

Matthew Rowe, farm manager, said: “Mushrooms and the microscopic world of mycelia is fascinating. The network, sometimes called the 'Wood Wide Web', orchestrates the environment, communicating, warning of danger and sharing resources. The exotic mushrooms that we will be focusing on, like Lion's Mane, Reishi and Cordyceps, are known as functional mushrooms. This means they’re beneficial to us but without the toxicity that comes with most medicines.

“Like the forest and mycelia, we believe that we are stronger together. This is why we have created the café as a space where people can come together to learn from the mushrooms collectively as a community.”

Shrooma’s official launch will take place at 10am on Saturday 25th January when Oswestry’s Town Council Mayor, Councillor Mike Isherwood will cut the ribbon.

Mayor of Oswestry, Cllr Mike Isherwood, said: “We are pleased to be able to support Shrooma and wish them all the very best with their exciting new venture. The ‘Breathing New Life into Empty Properties Grant’ was intended to support new businesses to bring empty buildings back into use and to support them on their journey.

“Congratulations to the team at Shrooma, they have renovated the property to an amazing standard and the business is a great addition to Oswestry’s thriving independent offer.”