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I feel it’s high time for an update on the cafe’s renovation schedule, and what to expect for the future. A lot of people have been badgering me for this information, so I imagine there are a lot more people on the web who would find this interesting. Too bad they won’t find my site. June 20th is the tentative official date. Of course, those of you who were around for the “official” closing date know that things don’t always happen according to schedule. The announcement of an opening date is good news, however. It means there is a finite list of things that need to happen, and the owners are aware of the full extent of this list. Also, it’s good news for me, as I’ll finally be getting paid on a regular basis. Not to mention tips. Many of you are probably wondering how this cafe will be different, and how much of the remnants of alt.coffee will be retained. The answer depends mostly on who shows up. Currently, everything has been gutted. The bathrooms have been torn down completely, and are being re-floored, re-walled, re-ceilinged, re-tiled, and re-everythingelsed. All the comfy chairs and couches have been destroyed (believe me, we were doing you a favor by not letting you have them in your apartment). The regular chairs, lamps, and tables still exist, though I don’t know what they plan to do with all of them. The walls have all been patched, fixed, smoothed, and painted. The color scheme resembles a 1950s soda shop. Pastel blues and greens. Within the week, all the floors will be completely done over. The counter has been torn down, and will be replaced with a new counter, extending four feet further than the old one. Also the display case has been removed, and will be replaced with a better, shorter display case (shorter so that we can potentially hand coffee across it without spilling all over ourselves). All the coffee/espresso machines have been serviced, and will be returned soon, at which time Patrick and I will test them all for proper calibration (lots of coffee will be consumed that day). All of this completely dodges the question at hand, which is “what will the cafe be like?” Like I said before, that answer depends on who shows up. Currently, the cafe has the external attitude of a nice place you can take your kids. However, kids only create business for a certain percentage of the day, and at night the owners will depend on some adult regulars for continued survival. For this reason, the cafe will keep the same hours, at least for the first month or so. In other words, if a bunch of kids show up and the adult regulars leave, it will be a kids cafe. If kids don’t have the huge turnout they hope, but the adults hold their ground, then it will probably turn into a very clean version of alt (whatever the hell that means). In other words, the clientele ultimately defines the cafe’s “vibe”, not the other way around. To be sure, there are steps that can be taken to change the likely atmosphere of the cafe, and the owners are doing their best to control the results, but no business owner can hope to decree “these are the customers we’re going to have”. The best they can do is cater to a particular type of customer, and try to work with whatever shows up at their door. This is what we are going to see on June 20th. To put it simply, if you want the cafe to be open late, then show up late. Etc. And tell your friends. Bring money. |
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