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Is town's new mushroom cafe your cup of tea?

BBC A woman paints a picture of a mushroom on the shop window. The sign on the window says Shrooma in big capital letters. Below, it says Mushrooms & Coffee. There is a reflection of a Tudor building on the opposite side of the street. You can also see some mushroom lights hanging inside the shop.BBC
Shropshire's first mushroom cafe opens in Oswestry

Shropshire's first mushroom cafe is to open in Oswestry on Friday.

In addition to a traditional cup of coffee, Shrooms also sells medicinal mushrooms in tea and powder form - and will eventually offer fresh mushrooms, grown on-site.

Co-owners Paul and Alex Murray also plan to do guided tours of the "fruiting room" for educational purposes.

The mushroom cafe has moved into the old, Grade II listed, Dorothy Perkins store on Cross Street, which has lain empty for 3 years.

Paul and Alex Murray stand in front of a coffee machine. Shrooma (the name of the cafe) is written behind them on the shop window.
Paul and Alex Murray say it's been their dream to open a mushroom cafe.

The couple came up with the idea of running the mushroom cafe and urban farm two years ago, and started looking for a suitable building.

Mr Murray said: "I always had a passion for mushrooms, going out and foraging with my dad".

The couple said the cafe was the first in the UK also growing the mushrooms on site, in a 120-sq m (1,300-sq ft) fruiting room upstairs.

The cafe is opening on Friday, to take advantage of Christmas shopping, but will have an official launch on 20 January.

Two mushroom grow bags sit on a shelf in a small tent-like structure. Lion's mane is growing out of the bags. They have the look and texture of cauliflower.
There will eventually be 7,000 "fruiting blocks" in the upstairs room at the cafe

The main mushrooms they will be growing on site will be Lion's Mane and gourmet mushrooms. "Lion's Mane tastes like lobster," Mr Murray said.

The mushrooms need a controlled environment, so the public will only be able to see them through a viewing window.

The couple plan to invite schools and other groups to the cafe to explain the medicinal benefits of the mushrooms.

"Lion's Mane is the most common medicinal mushroom that people know. It can help you focus, reconnect brain cells and also help with the menopause, which is a big topic at the moment," Ms Murray said.

Her husband agreed: "Our offer is great for people who want to embrace their health."

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