It has long long been part of the plan to sell coffee in the marvellous bookstore. We haven't quite got there yet, but we did hit a milestone this summer, with the first delicious cup of espresso rolling off the press, so to speak.
Here is a step by step account of the journey so far, with photos! It has been a small idea but with major consequences. Recall that we bought the store in August 2016.
Unearth the kitchen bench (November 2016) - The bookcases on top and in front of the kitchen bench were moved away, making space to once again use the kitchen, albeit still rather crowded in with books (video).
Food Act approval (January 2017) - Future events would reveal that this was premature registration, since the final regulatory steps can't be taken until the coffee stand is operating and that hasn't even happened yet, four years later.
Filter coffee available (February 2017) - I spoke to a few friends of friends who knew about this stuff and recommended starting with filter. So we did. In ordinary times we have made delicious coffee for customers daily. Alas it has been on pause since March 2020, though I still like to whip up a pot when i am in store. We have never actually got around to selling it though. The hanging sign out front dates from this time.
Remove corner bookcases (October 2017) - We decided to make a dedicated space for coffee in this corner, and a kindly passing chippy built us a temporary table and some shelves.
Espresso machine en route (October 2017) - Some friends of the bookstore had a spare machine when they moved office premises and kindly lent it to us. The helpful folks at Coffee Supreme picked it up from them and gave it a zhuzh.
Electricity for machine (October 2017) - An electrician came and hooked us up with a socket on the wall. Til: espresso machines require a lot of juice.
Make more space (Boxing Day 2017) - The enormous back-to-back bookcases in the kitchen were shrunk and turned around. It is a bit hard to see in the third picture, but that is the same view as the second but with the bookstore changed around and a bit closer up.
Espresso machine arrives (April 2018) - The machine plus grinder plus cups appears in store and makes it way to the table with a sojourn the shed. Til: espresso machines are very heavy.
Floor repairs (June 2018) - A broken pile in the kitchen floor was replaced, and the plumbing for the espresso machine was put in. Happily there was an existing drain near at hand.
More floors (November 2018) - Some helpful people whipped up the lino and carpet and polished and varnished the floor. So beautiful. A different helpful person blocked off an old gas pipe that was sticking up annoyingly.
Kitchen improvements (November 2018) - This was a big change. The kitchen bench was replaced and new tables were made to replace the temporary one. A fridge appeared. So did French doors to the backyard and (although I don't have a closeup photo) there are some beautiful urns for tea bags with jaunty labels on top of the cupboards above the bench .
First recruitment - I had a few conversations in 2019 with various cafe operators near the store and other folks to see whether they might be interested in setting something up. But nothing of note happened until I decided to try recruiting someone more directly to start a coffee stand. A Facebook ad led to some productive conversations and finally a proposal to start operations in March 2020.
Global pandemic (from March 2020) - Alas, COVID put paid these plans on long-term hold.
First official cup of coffee made (January 10, 2021) - I had some time in the bookstore during the Christmas holidays that I used to push ahead on this project. I bought some necessary things (including takeaway cups and milk jugs). A first cup was managed but grinder troubles made the pour too quick and the coffee too tasteless.
First delicious cup of coffee made (January 24, 2021) - At last I sorted out the grinder wrinkles but I was heading back to Wellington for work and out of time for more experiments.
After all that, I think three things.
1/ Such great journeys begin from such small goals: I wanted to make espresso. We ended up remodelling the back of the store. And I didn't even mention the period when we tried growing coffee plants in the bookstore garden (for fun; don't worry).
2/ This is all such a lesson in the value of aiming straight for the goal. We could surely have got there faster if I'd set out to make coffee rather than to do everything else.
3/ And if you are reading between the lines, you will note that there are long periods when nothing much is happening. This is one of the realities of advancing such a project from a distance and fitting the small efforts required around the rest of my life.
Update (March 2021): The folks who lent us the coffee machine when they moved out of their old business premises in 2017 have now moved to a new place that has space for it again. So we will be short one espresso machine, grinder and cups. This doesn't seem a mortal blow. I understand coffee suppliers are more than happy to provide a machine and equipment and training as a side hustle to the beans.
PS: If you know anyone keen to set up a little coffee stand in the back and backyard of a beautiful secondhand bookstore in Ponsonby, point them in my direction.