Oh, we’re not opening without heating. That’s been very clear from the start. I am not going to be one of those cafes with no heating or cooling, one that pretends that it’s an authentic experience to have a ‘rustic’ setup. That’s not us.
Cafe Mint is aiming for an upmarket experience, which means we’re going all out on comfort. The softest chairs, the spongiest beanbags, and definitely the assistance from the very best central heating service. Near Sydney, it can get surprisingly chilly in winter, contrary to popular belief, so I’m totally serious about that last thing. I’ve seen way too many cafes try and get away with just having oil heaters, or (heaven forbid) those space heaters that beef up the electricity bill like nothing else. Every time I walk into one of those, I have a single reaction: I turn on my heel and walk out.
The only exception to that has been Johnny’s, way down in the south of Melbourne, but they’re an exception to a lot of rules. In fact, I got a lot of inspiration from Cafe Mint by how Johnny runs the place, and to be fair, they have some really great insulation in there, even up on their newly-renovated mezzanine level. You’d think all the heat of the cafe would drift up there and make it stifling, but I finally managed to get a seat there the other day (it’s very competitive) and it was quite nice.
Either way, Cafe Mint will have all the heating and cooling anyone could ever need, so we’re going to have the edge in that area. We’re not really competing for real estate, given our distance apart, which is great because I’m still going to want to go to a nice cafe on occasion when I’m visiting the southern lands. Preferably a cafe that isn’t mine, because then I’ll be able to enjoy myself without feeling the urge to correct the cutlery placement.
Instead, I’ll be filling in suggestion cards for whoever ends up doing our ducted heating repairs. Sydney heating specialists need to know what’s what. That’s what we’ll have.
-Melanie