Founded by social worker Kallol Ghosh and his team, Cafe Positive, a unique cafeteria owned and run by a group of HIV-positive teenagers in Kolkata, India, opened to the public on July 14.
It took Kallol Ghosh and his team nearly six months to find a proper space to open the cafe, which was finally located at a 12ft-by-10ft garage at Jodhpur Park. The owner of the garage generously offered his space in a bid to fulfill the dream of these HIV-positive teenagers.
All of the teenagers working in the cafe belong to an NGO, where they were provided with professional training to become chefs. All of them were abandoned by their families when they were declared HIV-positive during childhood.
The founder Ghosh told Hindustan Times that the HIV-positive teenagers would only “maintain accounts, serve customers and clean tables” and the kitchen would hire cooks.
He added that customers could see clearly how food and beverages were being prepared through the glass walls and only disposable utensils would be used in the cafe.