Half Cup, a quirky and cool café chain in London is celebrating the official opening of their second London premises – and here at Dawnvale, we’re delighted to have helped them bring their vision to life.
We were initially approached by owners Ash and Kamari back in December 2018 when we carried out the full refurbishment of their Kings Cross café. We were therefore excited to see their plans for a much bigger second branch – after much searching and scouring of the capital, the duo chose the Barbican as their new home. It is the perfect spot for food and drinks businesses thanks to heavy foot traffic from tourists and nearby residential homes. For Half Cup, this means a steady stream of customers wanting to sample their aromatic coffees, sweet treats and other menu delights.
Tackling the challenges of a residential area
However, with a number of residential properties not too far away, this did pose a few challenges for the Half Cup team who were under pressure to reduce noise pollution and have odour control measures in place to avoid upsetting the people that would essentially going to become their customers in the not too distant future.
Luckily, the Dawnvale team is well versed in the latest noise pollution and odour control regulations. We were able to create an innovative action plan to help reduce both while also ensuring that the design of the new café was in keeping with the industrial-chic look that the company has become known for.
We ensured the latest odour and noise reduction technology throughout the full restaurant, keeping the industrial look of the café while also adhering to all current legislation. As well as keeping on the right side of the regulations, we carried out a full internal fit-out which comprised of a brand-new bar area, a commercial kitchen, all mechanical and electrics, fixed seating and associated building works.
Seating and bar
We selected a mixture of fixed and bespoke seating to serve a variety of customer needs but, the specially designed bar frontage is the real star of the show. It was created using concrete screen blocks to create a sense of continuity throughout the industrial designed restaurant. The 4-metre long bar was then complemented by a galvanised bar top and mild steel and mesh gantry to show drinks on offer. A hardwearing geometric tile area was laid at the front which nicely blends in with the wood flooring.
Mission accomplished
Dawnvale’s Client Manager Jacob oversaw the project and was responsible for getting the venue ready to open in just six weeks. He said, “This was a challenging project due to the location and guidelines set by the landlord and surrounding council.
“However, the overall look of the restaurant thanks to the combined hard work of Dawnvale, and the designer Nikita, as well as lots of understanding from the customers resulted in a fantastic looking site in a hugely popular area of London.
“We hope Kamari and Ash have the utmost success in the future; it has been a pleasure working with them."
