The Dublin Community Blog

I recently came across a notice in the Irish Times seeking out attendees for a public forum on developing the Café Culture in Dublin. The topic for discussion was less about coffee quality and more to do with the Café becoming a “third place” away from work or home and thus an alternative to the good old Irish Pub. The role of the traditional pub in Ireland is deep rooted but the forum focused on an ideal that the café could in future become a hub for socialising, business and the arts.
 
Among the speakers were Professor Kieran M. Bonner of St. Jerome’s University Canada, actor Glynis Casson, divisional librarian with Dublin City Council Maire Kennedy and Dick Gleeson. The latter, a Dublin city Planner, gave a fascinating presentation (worth a post by itself) on the future of Dublin from a planning perspective, with cafes playing a key role in linking the inner city regions.
 
People from all backgrounds and industries spoke at the meeting and the consensus was that Dublin needs an alternative to the pub when it comes to a “third place” but there is a conflict between what the perceived ideal café is and what the business owners are willing to provide.
 
I have thought a lot since the talk about whether Dubliners would ever change their socialising habits and pick a café over a pint. Michael McDowell was lampooned for this suggestion in the not so distant past and although there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that a change is called for by Dubliners, the question still remains whether or not they would turn up once a week rather than once a month.
 
I often hear people complain about the lack of cafes in the city that have real atmosphere and character. Cafes in Dublin tend to be more like convenience stores that happen to sell coffee. Sandwiches, pastries, fizzy drinks and smoothies are all laid out in an effort to maximise the earning potential per square foot. Café owners need to make a certain number of transactions a day just to make ends meet and all the trouble starts to arise when customers start requesting jazz lunches, free wi-fi and a single comfy couch in a space that fits 12 seats.
 
The other side of this argument is that café owners in Dublin pay very large rents most of the time. An average enough (small) café in a reasonably busy street in the city will often set you back rents of somewhere between 35-45k and that’s before rates, insurance and all those other wonderful add-ons.
 
There are two models for a café and I suppose you could use a fishing analogy to describe them. The first works like a large scale fishing boat that drops a net and sieves the ocean waves. Large chains open cafes on busy streets with the knowledge that they will net a certain percentage of passers by. It’s a formula that works and continues to work for many businesses. The turnover is huge but so are the costs unfortunately. As a rule the quality also tends to suffer as a result but as long as it’s of a “reasonably” high standard they are ensured of a certain amount of sales based on convenience and curiosity alone.
 
The second approach is less scale-focused and more quality focused, like line fishing in a way. The overheads are nowhere near as large but the quality can be maintained more rigidly. This is a business built on the basis that they will use knowledge, experience and craftsmanship to ensure quality and thus repeat business from customers. (Unfortunately there is also a third type of café that tries to combine low quality with low volumes but we’ll try to ignore that for the time being)
 
Admittedly the second example is less frequent in this country. Despite having a World Barista Champion in 2008 (he now works in Chicago after a spell in London), a number of really innovative machine and equipment manufacturers and a growing online coffee community there is a distinct lack of high quality, small cafes in the city. Is this down to a lack of creativity on the part of the proprietors or the failure of patrons to support small cafe business? I’m not so sure.
 
This question is all the more poignant for me in that I myself am on the verge of opening my first cafe. I’ve had countless people wish me well but all have done so with a reminder that I will have to make some sort of compromise in order to be commercially viable. I’ve always wanted to provide a space where Dubliners can enjoy a decent cup in a comfortable environment but as I approach d-day those doubts begin to whisper in the back of my mind.