In December 2010, on a quiet, dead-end avenue in Kreuzberg, we opened the doorways to our first café. Berlin’s specialty espresso scene was nonetheless forming. Phrases like direct commerce, transparency, and terroir hadn’t but entered widespread use. However from day one, they had been the inspiration of our work.
We roasted our personal espresso within the again, baked our muffins from scratch, and constructed all the things ourselves, together with a home made drip bar utilizing Hario V60s and welded copper pipes. It was sincere, easy, and hands-on. Filter espresso wasn’t only a nod to nostalgia, it was how we selected to focus on origin, course of, and varietal. For us, it was probably the most compelling option to share what espresso could possibly be.
Sophie and I ran the café ourselves. We opened the door, brewed the espresso, and served the friends. There was no grand plan. Only a perception in taste, high quality, and the quiet risk of one thing significant.
A Neighborhood, and a Group
That early winter was harsh; fifteen to twenty centimeters of ice coated the streets for weeks. On the finish of our first week open, I left Berlin briefly to go to an outdated household buddy within the Netherlands with my father. Sophie was alone, holding the café collectively in that bitter chilly. At some point, she circled and noticed a person sitting silently within the café, rubbing his legs the best way he nonetheless does. She hadn’t heard him are available. That man was Mario.
Mario got here from Argentina, a former scholar advocate along with his exhausting historical past. He informed us that in Berlin, in contrast to elsewhere, the police didn’t intervene with him, and that’s why he stayed. He lived simply down the road within the social housing complicated. Slowly, he grew to become a part of the rhythm of our house. He began serving to with chairs, exhibiting up early, and turning into probably the most acquainted faces within the café. Through the years, he’s been in employees movies, invited to each group social gathering, and welcomed in like household. Although his injured leg now retains him from carrying chairs, he nonetheless reveals up most days, generally within the workplace, generally simply round. And all the time welcome.
This café was by no means nearly espresso. It was, and nonetheless is, part of Kreuzberg. Edgar and his group now run Bagel Bro on the nook, which started as Fed Deli. Atelier Dough seems lovely donuts close by. Down the road, Mariama nonetheless runs Senegambia Restaurant, the identical place Sophie and I went for nourishment within the earliest, most exhausted days of our renovation. Fifteen years later, she’s nonetheless cooking, and we’re nonetheless returning.
The Renovation: A Probability to Rebuild With Goal
Earlier this 12 months, we confronted a tough fact: a long-standing leak had broken the ground beneath our bar. After practically a 12 months of short-term fixes, we knew we needed to pull all the things up. However moderately than simply restore, we selected to rebuild – with intention.
This renovation grew to become a chance to return to the center of what made our Kreuzberg café particular. We opened up the house by reclaiming a employees room with pure gentle, remodeling it into a part of the visitor space. The format was redesigned for each a greater workflow and a extra welcoming visitor expertise.
On the middle of the renovation was a renewed give attention to filter espresso. We constructed a devoted nook for hand brews, bringing again the very factor we launched with in 2010: house to pause, have interaction, and speak about espresso. It’s nonetheless the clearest manner for us to share the nuances of varietal, terroir, and processing, and we’re proud to make it a extra seen a part of the visitor expertise once more.
And the cheesecake, our authentic, iconic recipe, stays. In 2011, my mom emailed Sophie the recipe, joking that it might be a success. She wasn’t fallacious. That cheesecake grew to become the soul of the café, and nonetheless sits at its middle right now.
Design As Expertise
This challenge wasn’t about aesthetic thrives, it was about readability and light-weight. We labored with our longtime collaborators at Solar Studio to develop a design that’s sensible, refined, and atmospheric. Sebastian and Tobias Amberger, Anna Kruglova, and Lukas Dietrich formed an area that honors each craft and calm.
The construct was carried out by Joe, Taylor, and Pete from MADE, who’ve labored with us since our Mitte bar and past. They custom-built the aluminum bar, a clear and putting centerpiece, topped with a slab of granite we sourced from Steinsite in Neukölln. We spent hours sorting by stone till we discovered one with the proper depth and quiet power, a bit from Zimbabwe that anchors the house with dignity.
Lighting performed a defining function. We put in monitor lighting to open up your entire café, creating heat with out glare. And we introduced again the hanging lamps from Serax, first utilized in our now-closed KaDeWe café. Their smooth presence gave us a way of continuity, reminders of earlier chapters, now introduced ahead into this one.
We additionally stored the world maps – a refined nod to our authentic inspiration. Pulled from Nineteen Sixties schoolroom aesthetics, these maps act as a quiet dialog piece, tying geography, time, and origin into the very partitions.
Wanting Ahead
We’ve all the time believed that design isn’t about ornament, it’s about focus. This new house allows extra gentle, extra air, and extra time. It’s a spot the place folks can decelerate and the place we will as soon as once more spotlight the issues that matter most to us: origin, style, and connection.
We’re deeply grateful to everybody who made it attainable – from Tom Freund, our basic supervisor, who carried this challenge ahead with infinite care and dedication, to our neighborhood and the individuals who’ve supported us for fifteen years.
5 stops from the U-Bahn, tucked right into a quiet aspect avenue, the Kreuzberg café isn’t a spot you come across. It’s a spot you select to go to. And now, greater than ever, it’s able to welcome you in.
