Stockport ramen pop-up boosts pub sales while supporting homelessness

Across six nights at the Robinson Brewery pub, the Swan with Two Necks, in Stockport town centre, pop-up Jefes Ramen added more than £2,000 to drink sales and increased off-day traffic by around 40%, all while helping provide a hot meal to people experiencing homelessness locally.

Jefes Ramen was founded by entrepreneur Jefe Okoro, who, having experienced homelessness himself, and still without a permanent home today, is driven by a belief that communities should look out for one another and thrive together. For the past four years, Jefe has supported his local community through Jefes Barbers, funding initiatives including £5 haircuts during the cost-of-living crisis, free cuts for people experiencing homelessness and annual pay-what-you-can events directly from the business.

Jefes Ramen was born from a desire to make that impact sustainable, alongside Jefe’s childhood love of the Japanese noodle soup.

The concept sees Jefes partners with pubs with underused kitchens on their quietest nights, bringing the food, kit, team and customers to run guest kitchen events serving ramen. The pub keeps every penny made at the bar, Jefes keeps the food revenue, and for every bowl bought, another is provided to someone sleeping rough locally.

The idea comes comes at a difficult time for both hospitality and homelessness. A July 2026 survey from UKHospitality and other trade bodies found that 23% of hospitality businesses were operating at a loss, with one in six at risk of failure within 12 months. Meanwhile, the number of people presenting to Stockport Council as homeless increased by nearly 72% between 2020 and 2025, while rough sleeping quadrupled between 2019 and 2025.

Jefe Okoro said:

“There’s always another bill, another curveball and another good cause vying for your attention.

“I don’t want to build something that relies on continually asking people to donate. With Jefes Ramen, you buy the bowl you hopefully wanted anyway. That helps a pub fill a quiet night, supports a local business and means somebody sleeping rough gets a hot meal too.

“While we argue about whose head is furthest underwater, nobody reaches for any of us. There is no medal for who is drowning deepest. I want to breathe life into communities and their pubs, get the tills ringing a little faster, and put hot food into the hands of people who need it.”

To expand the pop-up model into more venues beyond Stockport, Jefes Ramen will launch an £8,000 crowdfunding campaign, titled 382k Reasons: Feeding the UK, One Bowl at a Time that opens on 30th September.

Funds will pay for mobile kitchen equipment, initial operating costs and the first 500 reusable insulated food flasks for people sleeping rough to keep future meals warm too. Supporters will be able to pledge £10 towards the programme or £25 to provide a reusable flask and hot meal to someone sleeping rough, while receiving a matching Jefes Ramen flask themselves.

Pubs and community partners can also back a £2,500 six-month kitchen residency, with Jefes operating two to three nights a week and providing meals to people experiencing homelessness every night it trades.

Jefes Ramen is initially looking for pubs with underused kitchens and quieter early or midweek trading periods. The Buy 1 Give 1 principle applies to venues too, meaning a community pub that genuinely cannot pay can host Jefes Ramen at no cost, funded by those that can.