Arjuna Wholefoods
A workers' co-operative wholefood shop on Mill Road, trading from the same late Victorian terrace since 1970.
Arjuna Wholefoods is easy to spot on Mill Road: the shop at number 12 is painted bright yellow. It occupies a late Victorian terrace building and is run as a workers' co-operative, owned fully and equally by the people who work there.
From restaurant to shop
The business began in 1970 as the idea of three friends active in the fledgling vegetarian community of the time. At first it was a macrobiotic restaurant that also sold a few wholefoods such as brown rice and lentils. The name comes from a character in the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata. The restaurant closed in 1972, and the team concentrated on the growing demand for vegetarian wholefoods and local produce. The shop's own history page adds that the premises are rumoured to have begun life as a fishmonger's.
What it sells
The shop stocks organic fruit and vegetables, grains, pulses, nuts and a broad range of zero-waste and fair-trade products, along with locally baked bread. It describes itself as fully vegetarian, with a vegan kitchen preparing daily vegan meals and salads to take away, and it also offers vegan catering and home delivery in the Cambridge area. Suppliers it names include the co-operatives Suma and Essential, and bread comes from local bakeries.
Practical notes
Opening hours are 09:30-18:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:30-17:00 on Sunday. The shop's website lists a separate number for the warehouse.
