We stopped at this charming diner along the road one evening.
Photo: scenes from an Australian road trip
Posted by John Lampard on Friday, 12 March, 2010 to the snap shots subset
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What is the best way to get the best service in restaurants?
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 17 February, 2010 to the comment subset
Surely being nice to restaurant and cafe staff is the best way to get the good service you deserve in return?
Similarly, going to a popular restaurant at the height of the dinner rush and expecting perfect service is folly. Drew Nieporent, the owner of Corton and many other restaurants around the world, says succinctly, [...]
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Photos: Duke’s Lounge, Randwick, opening night party
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 10 February, 2010 to the snap shots subset
Duke, a part time DJ and Salsa dance teacher, has spent the last few months – working weekends and pulling all-nighters – preparing for the opening of Randwick’s newest cafe, Duke’s Lounge, at 153 Avoca Street.
In addition to being open early enough to serve breakfast, Duke’s Lounge will eventually also be a place to head [...]
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The etiquette of becoming, and being, a restaurant regular
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 25 November, 2009 to the trends subset
Don’t go getting ideas above your station just because the staff at your favourite cafe or restaurant have started referring to you as a regular.
Prior to establishing regular status, you can’t let on you have interest in becoming a regular. Being needy is a turnoff. Likewise, acknowledging you’re approaching regular status – even if [...]
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Don’t consider my time billable, consider it adding value
Posted by John Lampard on Wednesday, 9 September, 2009 to the comment subset
It may be possible to enter into a bartering arrangement with places such as your favourite cafe if you consider that the time you spend on their premises either waiting for your takeaway order, or sitting down and dining, is actually adding value to the cafe’s brand. After all, a business that is seen to [...]
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The laptop backlash, cafes are for coffee not remote working
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 10 August, 2009 to the trends subset
The days of spending as long as you please working from your laptop, at a cafe, seem to be numbered if an apparently growing trend in the US is anything to go by.
“Good luck staying open when you’re turning half your clientele out on a Friday night,” Hannah Moots, 23, wrote about Cocoa Bar on [...]
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Cafe music that grooves to the beat of a coffee grinder
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 25 May, 2009 to the coffee subset
Sydney cafe and coffee meister Cafe Dave tackles the sometimes contentious question of background music in cafes… what exactly do you serve, and in what quantity?
I would say that the best approach for cafe background music is to choose tracks that are to the taste of your target demographic, but to vary the tempo and [...]
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Photo: cafe signage
Posted by John Lampard on Tuesday, 10 February, 2009 to the snap shots subset
Cafe signage becomes part of the Stack Cafe (ex Cafe 105) wall mural.
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The confessions of a failed cafe owner
Posted by John Lampard on Thursday, 5 February, 2009 to the comment subset
A frank account of a failed cafe venture as written by the erstwhile owner. An unfortunate story, I’d have liked the idea of having coffee served on a silver platter along with a chocolate biscuit…
You know that charming little cafe on New York’s Lower East Side that just closed after a mere six months in [...]
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{ Farewell Coffee & Things }
Posted by John Lampard on Monday, 22 December, 2008 to the coffee subset
The metaphor eluded me, as I slid back the glass door for the first time, and stepped into the cool of the coffee shop.
A stifling, humid, early January afternoon. The Sun sitting, quite motionless, without mercy, in the western sky, as it is oft to do at the height of summer. I’d felt every step [...]
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