“I've sort of given people who love punk music a home because they can come here and meet up with their friends, maybe buy a record, have a coffee, have a laugh play some pinball, talk about the next release,” says John Dimery, 26, owner of Black Coffee in Newtown, Wellington.
The sense of freedom that comes from being his own boss is what he enjoys the most about running the business. "If I wanna draw on the wall, I'll draw on the wall, you know what I'm saying?"
Black Coffee is a small space and John says he's built up enough customers since opening at the end of last year to make the business work. "I've got to a point now where I'm comfortable. I expect certain figures and I don't worry anymore".
While there is plenty of competition, a huge amount of coffee is consumed in Wellington. In March this year, CNN named Wellington as one of the top eight cities to go for coffee and a Positively Wellington Tourism report says Wellingtonians buys 45 million cups of coffee per year. The city is also home to more than 10 different coffee roasteries.
This cotent was brought to you with funding from New Zealand On Air.
