Union of Genius

Opening Tomorrow at Union of Genius!
Hello!
The wait is finally over! We are happy to announce that our doors will be opening tomorrow at 8:00 AM!

Join us for a delightful morning filled with specially blended artisan coffee, croissant toasties, and gourmet sandwiches. Try our fresh superfood and roasted veggie salads, nourishing nutritious three-bean curry, and Mediterranean bulgur with several Glten-free and rich vegan options.

We are excited to welcome you all and have you be a part of the start of our new venture at Union of Genius. Your familiar favourites and some new delicious additions await!

We also can't wait to hear what you think of our small interior changes.

See you tomorrow 😊

Hello, wonderful Union of Genius community! 😊

We are Mazlum and Bawer, and we are thrilled to announce that we have taken over the helm of your beloved café. We can't wait to share our passion for delicious food and warm hospitality with you!

We are currently working hard behind the scenes and introducing exciting new additions to the menu. Get ready for gourmet sandwiches, rich salads, croissant toasties, and a delightful cinnamon buns, brownies, vegetarian and vegan donuts as well as artisan coffee that will tantalize your taste buds!

But don't worry, the soups and chillies that you've enjoyed for many years will still be here, served with the same love and care. Union of Genius has always been a place of friendly faces and a homely atmosphere, and we are committed to maintaining that.

A huge thank you to Elaine for creating such a unique and cherished space for the community. We are deeply grateful for her vision and dedication, and we are honoured to build upon the strong foundation she has laid.

Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days as we get closer to opening our doors and serving you all once again. We are so excited to welcome you back and embark on this journey together! 🚀
With warmest regards,
Mazlum & Bawer

As many of you know, Union of Genius has been on the market since late last year and a sale has finally gone trough. It's bittersweet to announce that our last day working the cafe will be Thursday, July 11th. We welcome the new owners, Bawer and Maz, who will reopen the cafe as soon as possible. Rest assured, you'll still be able to get your soup and chilli fix just with some new menu additions. We're very excited to see what they do with the cafe and we wish them all the best of luck! 

Throughout Union's 13 years, we've been a cafe, a soup truck, a wholesale kitchen, but so much more. We've donated thousands of litres of soup through various charities. We've prioritised local suppliers, compostable practices, and  a cargo-bike delivery service. Our owner, Elaine, opened Union to serve Edinburgh soup because she loves soup and would talk about it for days. It's been a pleasure to serve our famous soups and chilli's for so many years. We're sad to say goodbye, but thankful you for your kindness and for enjoying soup as much as we do. We're excited for Union of Genius's next chapter.

We're selling our two soup delivery cargo bikes: Riese und Müller Packster 60 and Packster 80. Bespoke passive cooling boxes (that can be removed), dual battery for extended range and extreme street cred.
You can find the Packster 60 on ebay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235541080968). The Packster 80 is not listed because it needs a replacement motor so give us a shout if you're interested in that.
We would prefer to sell in Edinburgh and would be happy to offer a discount for a good cause.

We’re closing a bit early today due to staff illness, see you before 3!

‼️OFF THE ROAD‼️
Sadly, it’s too windy for Dumbo to be out and about today. He is staying warm and out of the rain for the day, but don’t worry! Our cafe on Forrest Road will be open until 4pm with extra soup and chilli for you

Some of you will have seen the Edinburgh Evening News article about our future: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/edinburgh-soup-cafe-owner-gutted-to-announce-closure-after-12-years-but-said-its-been-an-absolute-blast-4483851

To be absolutely clear WE ARE NOT CLOSING. The cafe and Dumbo will continue selling all your favourite soups and chilli.

What is happening is that after 12 years, it's time for Elaine and I to move on. For that reason, we have put the cafe and Dumbo up for sale. A new owner may keep on with what we're doing or take the business in a new direction but you still have a good few months to enjoy us right here.

As Elaine says we have, reluctantly, had to stop providing soup for other cafes. This was a hard choice but the combination of the cost of living crisis, post-pandemic blues and general slide of the planet into some sort of far-right hellscape makes it impossible to sell soup for any kind of price that anyone can afford to pay. Rather than compromise on our principles and make lightly flavoured water with some small chunks in it, we have decided to end that part of what we do.

The most depressing part of that is that we're no longer able to provide the care van with 150 litres of free soup per month. For that reason you'll notice we're no longer taking donations at the cafe or Dumbo. Please, if you want to support food for the homeless support the care van or other good causes directly.

REOPENING!
We’re coming back with a bang tomorrow!! We can’t wait to see you all there and to help you through this cold January with some soup

Once again, we’re closing over the holidays to give our soup elves a break! Keep an eye on this space for info about us opening back up in January. Happy holidays and happy new year from our family to yours 🥣❤️

The wind is out for vengeance today! Sadly that means Dumbo has to stay in until it’s safe for him to be out and about.

He’s off the road today and tomorrow - let’s cross our fingers that the wind slows down enough for him to go out on Monday!

❗️WE’RE HIRING❗️
We’re looking for a new team member for our cafe! If being a soup monger for Union of Genius sounds like something you’re interested in then keep reading.

We’re hiring a cafe assistant for 20.5-23.5 hours spread across four days a week - Wednesday to Saturday. Send us a message/email if you’d like to hear more about the work schedule or the work in general.
Perks and benefits - we’re a real living wage employer, taking good care of our staff is top priority. As a small, Edinburgh based company, we pride ourselves on supporting locals and that includes our staff. Plus, you’ll get lots and lots of soup! While on and off shift you’ll have all the soup you can dream of.
Initially the position is for up until Christmas with the possibility of continuing afterwards for the right person - we’d love to keep you on our team if it is the right fit for everyone.

If you’re interested email a copy of your CV and cover letter over to [email protected]
We can’t wait to meet our new soup monger!

Can you help Sunny Harbour Cat & Kitten Rescue with their work with cats and kittens? Needed now more than ever. ❤️

We currently have a number of cats and kittens in need special care and medication to get well again. Can you help support little kittens like Spud here who arrived with a badly injured tail this payday by donating a pound or two? We cannot continue to help these wee souls without your ongoing support. 🐾

Donate here or via Facebook: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/3874 #!/DonationDetails #%2FDonationDetails

The Edinburgh Fringe is back so no sleep for us. We'll be open 11am-6pm, Monday to Sunday for all your soup, chilli and salad needs.

And if you need to escape the crowds, come find us on top of Calton Hill at Genius to Go.

Sadly the cafe is open for reduced hours today due to staff illness but don’t worry - we’ll still be there to get you lunch! Open 12-3:30 for today only

Unfortunately the cafe is closed today due to the heatwave ☀️ lucky for you - Callie is still open! Head up Calton Hill to get an iced coffee, some delicious food, and enjoy the sun

POWER UP YOUR WORK 💥

Working from home getting you down and need a boost? Not only do all our snug booths come with ample power but now you can smash your work load with a friendly welcome, perfect coffee and a warm bowl of soup by 🫕🔥🖐

NOW OPEN FROM 12PM WEDS & THURS, SNUG BOOTHS CAN BE RESERVED 👉 0131 558 7080

Hello soup and chilli fans. I'm afraid Dumbo is off the road for a couple of weeks as he needs some urgent bodywork. (Don't we all, ed.) We're aiming to get him back at George Square for Monday 15th May.

In the meantime, we have loads of extra soup and chilli at our café on Forrest Road.

And, did you know, that we run the kiosk on ? If you feel like a lunchtime stroll then we can serve you , and some at the top.

💚 Rosa and Beth of New Leaf! 💚💚💚

Ahead of our move into Spring/Summer hours next week we're delighted to announce a new partnership with local soup heroes 🔊

From today we'll be testing options and getting feedback on portion sizing and presentation. So go for a wander doon the Water of Leith and swing by later for a pit stop.

2 soups:

Ezo the Bride (vg) Syrian style soup with bulgar wheat, paprika and mint

Coronation Chicken (omni, ngci) Lightly curried chicken with almond and apricot

+

Aubergine & Miso Frittata with Pistachio (vg, df, ngci)

SATURDAY 12-12 - KITCHEN UNTIL 10

Can you make tea? On Easter Saturday, our team faces a tough schedule: full rehearsal in the morning, performance in the afternoon. We need volunteers to help keep our cast and crew warm and well fed. And you know the best part? You don't even have to cook. All the grub is coming from our lovely pals at Embo Deli & Event Catering and Union of Genius. All you need to do is serve it up and, well, make tea! If you can give a few hours on Saturday 8th April, get in touch with us on [email protected]

Callie is so ready for the summer! Are you?

If you’ve been into the cafe recently you probably noticed that everything is being served in single use containers. We are adapting our business to keep things running smoothly but worry not - all the containers are compostable and made by

Being a we cherish all our veg.

This cold sunny weather is perfect for a walk up Calton Hill! Bundle up warm, walk in the sun, and visit Callie for some soup at the end of the trail

Soup or salad bowl? Why choose!? Get a soup & salad combo for £10.50 🥗

The cost of living crisis is really biting now. For us it is a “cost of doing business” crisis. Over the next few weeks you’ll see changes in how we do things. We have recently put up prices by what probably looks like a lot but that doesn’t even begin to cover our costs. Our electricity bill at the cafe has increased from £400 per month to over £1,000 per month: we would have to increase the cost of every soup we sell by 40p and every chilli by 50p just to cover that. At the same time, our rent in Leith went up by a 1/3rd this month and our cost to make soup and chilli has increased by an average of 25% in the last year.

We opened at the end of the Great Financial Recession and have dealt with Brexit and a pandemic. We’ve been through tough times but never anything like this. We’re having to take serious measures. We have a fantastic team here who are all pulling together and we’re sharing out the pain between us. Some of us have had hours shortened, some are having to run our outlets with smaller teams, everyone is being asked to do more with less. The owners (Elaine & Bruce) have taken a 15% salary cut and we invested more money over Christmas.

You will see at the cafe that we are using compostable take-out packaging only: it is literally cheaper than using the dishwasher and allows us to serve you with fewer staff. On Dumbo, some days we will only have one staff member. There may be a slight reduction in choice and a change in what we offer.

If we take a little longer to serve you, or your favourite soup doesn’t turn up for a while, please bear with us. We’re not going to compromise on our principles. We’re a Living Wage employer and we work with local suppliers. That won’t change. We will continue composting all our packaging and food waste. We’ll continue providing 150-200 litres of soup per month to the homeless via the Care Van. We will continue delivering our soup by cargo bike.

It’s been a hard time for everyone: well nearly everyone, the very wealthy are doing quite nicely. We realise it’s a privilege, not a right, to run a business here in Edinburgh. Everyone here at Union will work our hardest to get through this and we will stick to our principles while doing so. We’ve been soup-mongering here for 11 years and we aim to still be here in 11 years time.

Hope to see you for lunch.

We’re known for soup but don’t let that limit us! We offer in our cafe and kiosk and our team is trained by Santu themselves to get you the best brew ☕️

This week feels like spring is here early! We’re looking forward to spending it with you, our salad bowls are perfect for a sunny day ☀️🥗

Don’t let the sun confuse you, it’s always the right temperature for soup in Edinburgh! ☀️

Did you know our cafe is open on a Saturday? Come see us for your weekend helping of cake