Inside the Simpson's-themed vegan café that people are…

Inside the Simpson's-themed vegan café that people are going absolutely crazy for

You'd think that the Desert Island Dumpling were an Affleck's Palace staple with how busy it is. But the quaint little vegan café drenched in Simpson's memorabilia is just over a week old - and it's already a hit.

Found on the third floor of Affleck's, the café offers non-traditional vegan dumplings, salt and pepper chips, hash browns, and naughty noodles. The food is great but the décor is the real charm.

From miniature Lego Simpson's characters on the kiosk, a gaming monitor designed like Bart, a portrait of Homer disappearing into a hedge and a massive blackboard with the words: “I will not eat too many dumplings,” the store is a haven for fans of the longest-running American sitcom.

The Mr Burns of the operation is the CEO/slash manager of Desert Island Dumplings, Lucy Linford. Speaking to the M.E.N about their recent success, she said: "In person the response has been very positive, people are coming back day after day, they're telling their mates. My friend in the hairdressers told me people are talking about it.

"I think it's really good, first day we had about five customers, no one knew we were here, but every day after that it's been better and better and better."

A Liverpool native, Lucy along with her housemate thought up the idea for Desert Island Dumplings after berating the lack of options for vegans and veggies when it came to the stuffed doughy treat outside of mushrooms or tofu.

Since then, they have built up a worthy reputation that has seen them voted as the ‘ones to watch’ at The Golden Chopstick Awards and selected as finalist for the 2023 British Street Food Awards. But for Lucy, the Simpsons theme has been a happy coincidence that developed from her love of the show, a customer gifting them a Simpson's themed scarf, and the Affleck Palace's eclectic nature.

"It kind of spiralled," She said. "When Afflecks said do you wanna open up your first store, I was like Afflecks is a bit mad isn't it? there's random stuff everywhere, wouldn't it be cool if we made it like a Simpson's class room?

The design of the store is a 'passion project' for Lucy and Desert Island Dumplings (MEN)

"Desert Island Dumplings isn't a Simpson's themed company, it's like when I do markets, we're not there dressed like the Simpsons. It's just for the Afflecks thing, my hope is that one day we'll have stores all over and there'll all have different themes, this is just a passion project for my first one.

"I don't regret it but I do think people are a bit confused about it, but that's me all over!."

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