Good afternoon!
This post comes surprisingly on topic with a piece that writer Farrah Storr shared on her page this past week (Do you dream of a 'place in the sun'?) - highly recommend giving it a read. In her essay, she writes about the theoretical ‘place in the sun’ - a location we dream about living in if we could live anywhere. This dream often comes on the heels of a good holiday and during the summer season. Hers was stone farm house with land that produced some sort of harvest once a year. Mine is similar, a countryside location (obviously), preferably in Italy and I’d own a vineyard, although I speak no Italian or know anything about wine other than I like it pink and with lots of bubbles.
In the last couple weeks, and maybe it’s because we’ve had warm weather and slow days and I’ve drunken excessive amounts of iced coffees to cope, but I’ve been having a lot of ‘If I could’ dreams. I’ve let my mind wander about what sort of job I could do if I had the freedom to do anything.
If I could, I would open a coffee shop.
I have a horrible habit of letting my thoughts run wild and then obsessively contemplating this dream and if I could actually do it. I researched start up costs, loans, barista classes and how I would learn the fundamentals of coffee. I didn’t want to just be one of those pocket-full-of-cash people who opened a business for the giggles of it - oh no no no, I wanted to have all the knowledge about coffee. I wanted to be able to taste test, recommend options, curate flavours. I was diving in deep.
It’s a complete cliché dream, I know and I’m well aware that London doesn’t need another coffee shop business but this is my fantasy so let me enjoy it, mm’kay? Sometimes I imagine myself to be Ana Pascal (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) in the film Stranger than Fiction - she runs a bakery and Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS agent who audits her shop. He finds himself up to his neck in disorganised receipts in abandoned boxes upstairs. A great film, highly recommend.
I have two variations of how this dream job would play out. One is a bit more realistic (I know that’s not the point of ‘If I could,’ but I like to blend a bit of reality into the my fantasy world in the ever unlikely event that I could make it come true), the other is if I had won the lottery and literally had no limits to my creation.
For the first set up, I would have a space that’s essentially a rectangle shape. At the back would be a full counter space, a place to order and maybe maybe have some window-seating. There would be a big window at the front so natural light would shine in. Outside I’d set up two or three small tables and chairs for when there’s good weather. I’d be up baking the night before so there would be fresh orange madeleines, loaf cakes and muffins, and rustic bread loaves available on the shelf. Where I would ever find the time or kitchen capacity to produce all of this on top of running a business, I have no idea. This is a very active fantasy that seemingly grows each year. When I first had this idea, it was just to be a little coffee truck, so as you can see, I clearly let my imagination run wild.
The whole purpose of this version of the dream is that it’s a small, niche little one-stop-shop for coffee goers. It’s a small business.
The second version of this dream would be a large cafe with inside seating, it’s bright and airy and has a full-scale kitchen. We’d have a patisserie chef who produces the best cakes and bakes. I’d have a big patio space at the back which has borders of vegetable plants going around the edge, all of which would be used in the kitchen and my head chef - fancy, I know - would create simple but divine recipes that push and pull flavour together. The cafe would house two sections - one is the actual cafe and place to eat and then through a doorway there is a part bookshop and local shop. We’d sell locally sourced produce, and local art from artists who wouldn’t be able to afford a shop on their own. We’d run readings for upcoming writers, poetry nights, and maybe even monthly cooking classes. I want it to be a place that brings people together - a community space.
The coffee shop would be named something quirky like Apricot & Jam - I went through a weird phase where everything I named this fantasy coffee shop was two items paired with an ‘&’. Some brainstormed options included: Fig & Thistle or Ginger & Spice.
I’d be featured in magazines and local tourist guides such as Time Out and London’s Top Places for Coffee.
All in all it comes to be a very pricey affair to pull together - the fantasy version of myself has an expensive vision for life.
Many years ago when I interned in Sydney, there was a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop called Double Cross Expresso Bar run by Samuel Lee. He served coffee daily while is business partner ran the cafe in another part of the city. On most days, it was just him serving coffee and he’d say: “Same thing as yesterday?” and I nod and he’d give me a double espresso with a bit of milk, sometimes with ice, sometimes without. I loved it so much and, for those five months, it was a memorable part of my morning routine. At the end of the internship when I had to move back to the U.S. Sam gifted me a unique little espresso cup; I still have it in my cupboard and I think about that place all the time. The concept of this little shop has remained with me for years. I was enthralled by the idea of knowing regular customers orders, getting to know people whose faces you see everyday.
The reality is that this fantasy dream of mine will remain just that, a fantasy and I have no qualms with that. I’ve made peace with the fact that working a 9 to 5 job may just be it for me; that’s okay. I’ve noticed that there’s this urge, this push to be your own boss and that anybody who chooses to remain as just a ‘cog in the machine’ is onboard the burnout and boredom train.
But the thing is, my dream is built entirely within my imagination, and requires no expense of time, money or resources. Every time I play it in my mind it’s like looking through a little kaleidoscope - it’s colourful and bright and a beautiful little thing to behold. And without being utterly depressing, this bubble dream is distant and doesn’t reflect the harsh realities of modern life (bills, the hire and fire of employees, the glare of taxes and government regulation breathing down your neck, and the fact that you may never take a holiday again).
At the end of the day, this dream is an escape from current life - to imagine what it would be like to not work for someone else and to fulfil these tiny little desires that bury deep inside of me. The coffee shop dream “represents an idealised version of the lives we lead.”
However! If I one day hit the lottery and I do get to make this great big fantasy a reality, I hope you all can visit my coffee shop. First coffee is free, on me.
Five things I consumed this week:
Farrah Storr’s - “Do you dream of a ‘place in the sun’?”
Michael Estrin’s - “We leased a Ford Fiesta in 2013. The party never stopped (but sometimes it stalled)”
Hayley Nahman’s - “#107: Is New York overrated?”
Allison P. Davis’s - “Tinder Hearted - How did a dating app become my longest running relationship?”
Bloomberg’s - “This Is How China Could Hit Back Over Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit”
I 100% would frequent both versions of your dream coffee shops! In fact, I don’t know which shop I like more, which means you need to open both so I could alternate haha
My dream job has always been to open a local boutique with unique home decor, jewelry, and a small selection of clothing that I source from my travels around the world. But what would make my shop stand out is that every morning I would offer a selection of baked goods- chocolate chip cookies, almond croissants, cinnamon muffins, whatever!- that I make myself and once the batch sells out for the day there’s no more until the next. I have no clue how I would have the energy to bake, travel the world as a buyer, run a business, and interact with the customers (on top of living my actual life) but it’s a nice daydream from time to time!