A NEW establishment showcasing local suppliers has opened in Windermere.

The Rookery Lakes, at Victoria Forge, Victoria Street, in the heart of the Lake District, offers visitors a vegetarian café, a hair salon and a social hub - all in the same building. 

Shane Evans, the founder of the business, said it had opened the establishment five years ago in Oxford and has now brought the same concept to Windermere. 

The Mail: The hair saloon. The hair saloon. (Image: The Rookery Lakes)

He said: "We wanted to create a space with homemade and locally sourced food that is vegetarian and vegan.

"We are trying to keep as much of our sourcing materials as local as possible. We use our oat milk from Carnforth and our cow's milk we get from both Carnforth and Flookburgh.

"We have got a contract with HMP Haverigg in Millom so we get most of our root vegetables from the prison in Millom."

Their priority was to open "something that was a little bit different to Windermere", said the owner.

He added: "We want to it be a community space.

The Mail: Variety of cakes available at the café. Variety of cakes available at the café. (Image: The Rookery Lakes)

"One of the key elements we want to work with is fulfillment so when people are coming to us they leave feeling connected to other people and they leave feeling like it has been an experience for them rather than just a place to eat and drink something."

The Rookery Lakes has a menu offering soups, quiches and salads - all freshly made in-house. 

In addition, the owner said their hair salon products are "carefully chosen with the environment in mind."

He added: "They don’t just have organic content, we also consider how they are produced, what they are free from, and how they are delivered."

The establishment is looking to start its round of events, including board games evenings, pub quizzes, opening mic nights and live music.

Their next events are:

  • Board Games: Thursday March 2 from 6 to 10pm
  • Pub Quiz: Friday March 17 - Bar opens at 6pm, quiz starts 7pm prompt
  • Open Mic Night: Thursday March 23 from 7 to 10pm
  • Dungeons and Dragons Club: Thursday 20th April from 6-10pm, then the third Thursday of each month