I am opening a cafe with my Taiwanese partner after Chinese New Year. We are using this holiday to do some DIY in the place as it was pretty crusty.
Anyways, we need a suggestion as to what to do with the back wall. We have painted it white for now, and are busy arguing over weather we should paint it another colour, do some home style artworks on it, let people sign it, plaster it with newspapers, anyway you get the picture.
The cafe is called ‘Butter’ and its yellow and white themed, and will be a breakfast/lunch type place opening in the evenings later on if we feel the need.
As you can tell it’s very much an easy-going project.
We’ll sell fish/chicken and chips, home made burgers, select-a-sandwich and salads - with no mention of pork anywhere on the menu.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and if we choose yours then, your welcome to come in for for a home style feed on the house!
How exciting for you! I wish you all the luck with the venture
And a personal :bouncy: and a :yay: and a :bravo: on the no-pork thing (not on religious grounds, just taste)
As for the wall, I like the direction you mentioned and Namahottie’s suggestion for a local artist is good too. I know someone who does murals, PM me if you’re interested.
I think it’s difficult to be more specific because we don’t know what the place looks like. In general, you should consider light (too little? go lighter colors, for example) size of room (too small? don’t clutter the wall, put mirrors, etc.), name/logo/style (use it at least partly on the wall, but don’t overdo it), business hours (daytime or nightime place? that will determine the colors and style somewhat) /EDIT: oops! you already said this one/…, etc. etc.
Watch home-makover programs religiously. But not those extreme-makovers from US, they’ve terrible taste.
How about some of those realistic fake food props of butter? and maybe get some local artists to make some buttery art works? Stick with the theme and spread it on thick.
I would have the space white with spotlights on it and have local artwork - photos, paintings, etc. - hung there on a rotational basis.
It will be ever-changing and interesting, produce income (most artists will give you commission on artwork sold), and be a talking point. It also shows you to be community spirited.
Floosies. Lots of floozies…that means Ladies Night every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nite. Cheap beer. Very cheap beer. Floozies. Did I mention floozies? Cheap beer. Lots of ZZ Top, Tab Benoit, Peter Green, Albert King, Tony Joe White and Warren Zevon. Cheap beer.
I must concur with every word the wise Doctor has said.
Especially the part about the floozies. And cheap beer. And floozies.
And thank you for that link.
Get a good Internet connection and a projector, and put up real-time live webcam streams of places like a cafe in Paris or a club in Tokyo or something. Then get those place(s) to do the same for your cafe, so people can wave or even talk to each other as if they were just next door.
We really like the webcam idea. How would one go about finding a cafe who would be willing to co-operate?
DB - I have to apologise in advance for the seating we have already purchased… it consists of stools. Brightly coloured but minimal lumbar support… but chairs can be purchased in future if needed
We definitely have beer on the menu. We are thinking about including Taiwan Beer at the moment…
Oh and the prices - very much traditional breakfast shop prices apply. You can expect to leave with a full belly of fish and chips + a drink for under $100nt. I’m not talking $99nt either
[quote=“momo21”]Anyways, we need a suggestion as to what to do with the back wall. We have painted it white for now, and are busy arguing over weather we should paint it another colour, do some home style artworks on it, let people sign it, plaster it with newspapers, anyway you get the picture
…
We’ll sell fish/chicken and chips,
with no mention of pork anywhere on the menu.
[/quote]
Great… especially if you can get fish and chips right…!
And no pork anywhere on the menu… good… even better if its not in the food ha ha ha!
Good luck with it. I would keep the decor simple and unsophisticated… a nice clean look for a cafe. You can add some stuff later… maybe just a pale yellow? A couple of pictures? Difficult to say without looking at it. Focussing on getting the food and service right is most important, of course. I generally only notice the decor when I’m waiting too long for the food…
And a no smoking policy?
(Disagree with the earlier poster. “Sports for those who like it” is great for those that do! But what about those who turn up and don’t like it. I think you have to go one way or the other with this kind of thing… If you have music, why not have a bit of Mozart or something tinkling away in the background… a touch of class. I’d say no TV at all… and would be happy with no music also.)