We thought the small shoe box size shop front would be quite adequate. We were wrong.
We quickly came to the realisation of the potential of our coffee shop within 8 short weeks of operation. By the time the school holidays were upon us, we knew we had outgrown our small premises. In that time we attracted a following. A certain type of person but not contained within a specific age, sex or demographic. The love of Star Wars spans generations.
We know that we are offering something unique and up until now wasn’t available in Newcastle. Indeed, from the feedback we’ve been getting there’s nothing like it in Sydney or the rest of Australia for that fact.
We now have bigger plans and ideas and dreams which couldn’t happen in the small space that we were renting.
There was only one thing that was disappointing our customers, the space was far too small. And many others who wanted to visit who kept asking us to be open in a Saturday. We did that by hosting an event we called the Imperial Recruitment Day, which again proved that the place was too small. The spectacle spilled out over the side walks on both sides of our little corner coffee bar. It was pandemonium. A thronging crowd of fans who came despite it being the middle of winter. Ask anyone who was there, the atmosphere was electric and the event was epic.
For now we have closed our doors but only because we are on the hunt for a new location. And we have found it. We’d love to tell you where it is but we don’t want to spoil the surprise. Or set you up for disappointment if we don’t get it. But you can play a important part in helping us make this dream into a reality and be one of the first to see the new place before we open to the public.
Everyone who contributes will be invited to check us out before we officially open.
We are confident of being able to cover the weekly rent, but with a commercial lease we require 4 months (x the weekly rent) in advance for the bond and security deposit.
The $16,000 we seek covers that and only that.
Everything we need is there. We just have to do a lot of cleaning, clean, painting and install new signage.
If we go over and beyond the initial goal, the money will be used on other improvements and additions to the property.
If we exceed this goal we’ll have various stretch goals, such as fitting out the power points with USB ports, so people can recharge their phones while giving themselves a caffeine recharge.
The bigger this goes, the better the improvements and innovative ways we can use the site.
The Rebel Alliance feel they need a Recruitment Day too, so we’ll give them one. As well as the few rebels local to the area they’ll bring in a squad from Sydney.
But don’t be surprised if their little party is crashed by the 501st Legion ;)
The Imperial Recruitment Day had a string quartet. How do you outclass something like that? By being cuter!
We’ll be getting in contact with local primary schools to find the best recorder players in the Hunter region to put together a symphony orchestra to be tooting the main Star Wars theme.
After the launch you’ll have a cafe that will be fun to hang out in.
Will the novelty wear off? We think not.
We plan on having glass display cabinets with toy collections, both old and new, not just of the owners but also showcasing that of other collectors who will lend their collections for a couple of weeks at a time.
Local prop and costume makers will be able to display their work. Most do it personally for pleasure, not profit, but the attention to detail is amazing. Not just Star Wars but also other movie franchises.
We want our cafe to be a hub that attracts creative, talented and skilled people. We’d like to shoot short videos of the costume makers talking about how or why they’ve made the costume or what made them a fan. These we’ll upload to YouTube and create a qr code to take a person directly to that video. The QR code will be on the the display case. If you’ve got a QR scanner app on your smart phone you will be able to read it and it will take you directly to youtube where you can watch the video while sipping on your latte as if the prop builder/costume maker is right there explaining it to you in person.
We will have regular trivia nights, and gatherings. This is a space we want inhabited by likeminded individuals.
But all of that would mean nothing if the coffee wasn’t good, right?
And making a good strong coffee is what we’re all about. We just like to surround it with a fun filled atmosphere where people aren’t afraid to be themselves. Or the chance to be someone else.