Wivenhoe Cafe& Gallery

Wivenhoe Cafe & Gallery opened on East Street on 21 August 2024, in a shopfront that had stood empty since its time as the town's chip shop. Owner Margo Zawislak-Joannides runs the business alone, serving coffee, tea, sandwiches, salads and cakes that include her own Polish-style bakes alongside a changing programme of exhibitions on the walls around the tables. Contributors have included local painters, a florist and small clothing makers, with the gallery display rotating every few weeks. Zawislak-Joannides took on the premises without a working heating system in her first year and ran a public fundraiser to install a log burner ahead of winter. The cafe has since hosted workshop evenings tied to its exhibitions, including a session accompanying the Many Worlds show. East Street sits just up from the Wivenhoe waterfront and the town's working quay.