Latest news with #cafe
CTV News
7 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Dramatic surveillance video shows suspects flee scene after Old Montreal fire
Montreal Watch Dramatic surveillance video captures the violent fire at a cafe in Old Montreal in the early morning hours of May 30, 2025.
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Why our coffee can cost more on a weekend than during the week
Have you ever looked at your cafe bill on a weekend and wondered why your coffee is more expensive than it was midweek? Many of us will have paid Sunday and public holiday surcharges before, but they're becoming more common on your average weekend. Extra charges can be frustrating — especially if there's no clear explanation around them or the service doesn't stack up. We asked industry experts why businesses are using surcharges more frequently, and how they are calculated. Under consumer law, businesses are allowed to impose a surcharge if they're facing elevated costs on that particular day. Sean Edwards, managing director of Cafe Culture Magazine, points out that costs have gone up in many areas of the hospitality sector. "We've seen everything go up, from wage costs to superannuation to workers compensation, which adds … nearly 20 to 30 per cent on top of the payroll," says Mr Edwards, based at Port Macquarie/Birpai land on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast. "Then things like electricity have gone up, [wholesale] coffee's tripled in price over the last 12 months. Chris Tate is the operations manager of a coffee-roasting business in North Ryde, New South Wales, on the traditional lands of the Wallumedegal people. He says wages often equate to 35 to 40 per cent of total costs and those costs spike on weekends due to penalty rates. "The surcharge is how venues can honour those award wages without cutting hours, lowering quality, or closing on weekends," he says. "It's a direct link between customers wanting a weekend coffee and making sure the person behind the machine is paid properly." Weekend surcharges aren't about boosting profits, they're helping cafes survive, Mr Tate says. "There's no strict percentage cap on weekend surcharges," he explains, but customers shouldn't be surprised when they go to pay. He adds that charging fairly and communicating that to customers is key. While state or territory regulations on the way surcharges must be displayed may differ slightly, under Australian Consumer Law, businesses must: That means displaying it on printed menus, digital ordering pages, or signage and making sure it's easy to read. "Anything misleading could breach ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) guidelines," says Mr Tate, "so clarity is key". "Most customers are understanding when you communicate openly and respectfully." Mr Edwards believes it would be rare that a cafe is price gouging. "I think at the moment everyone's in a tight spot," he says. "There's a lot of real costs, and I think people have just got to relate it back to their own lifestyle and their own house and the cost they're feeling as well. Mr Tate says the surcharge only works when it's paired with a great experience. "If a customer is paying a little more … they should get more in return such as better service, delicious coffee, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere." Customers who believe they've been hit with undisclosed surcharges can make a complaint with their local fair trading or consumer affairs agency.
Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Relish Deluxe: Where Jozi goes to eat after dark
Refuel: Relish Deluxe, a café, deli, grocer and late-night diner in a garage forecourt on Johannesburg's Jan Smuts Avenue, is open 24 hours a day. It's just past midnight in Rosebank and the streets have exhaled their daytime rush. On Jan Smuts Avenue — where Parkwood and Rosebank blur — a new energy stirs. The neon glow of Minty's garage cuts through the night, not for fuel, but for the irresistible pull of wood-fired dough, chipotle's smoky heat and bold espressos. Welcome to Relish Deluxe, Johannesburg's 24-hour culinary haven, where a wagyu burger at 3am, fresh-baked croissants at dawn or a lingering coffee in a reimagined forecourt feels like a quiet revolution. Only six weeks old, Relish has already woven itself into Jozi's fabric. On two recent weekends, we turned around — upstairs seating packed, the forecourt alive with groups under orange streetlights. Even on a Wednesday evening, it's buzzing; less jam-packed, but no less inviting. And the hype delivers: a Mexican pizza with a charred, chewy crust; steak frites kissed with chimichurri and an Asian slaw chicken burger, tangy and unforgettable. This isn't fast food. It's memory in motion. A love letter to a city that never sleeps. Chef Muhammed Patel Relish is a café, deli, grocer and late-night diner in one. It fills a gap in Johannesburg's foodscape — high-quality, halaal dining that defies the clock. Think buttery croissants, soft-serve swirls, artisanal pastas and pantry staples; available always. Young chef Muhammed Patel, in the industry for eight years, channels his family's culinary heritage. 'My grandfather cooked for hundreds at weddings,' he says. 'Food was our heartbeat. Now it's Relish's.' His kitchen marries tradition with precision — wagyu burgers are decadent, pizza crusts sing with char and the ras malai cheesecake with saffron and cardamom is decadently unforgettable. 'Whether it's 2pm or 2am, the standard holds.' Relish sits steps from The Pantry, another petrol-station-turned-destination, signalling a shift in how Jozi eats and gathers. These spaces — once transient, functional — now pulse with connection, embodying the principles of new urbanism. Like London's Boxpark or Brooklyn's warehouse food halls, Relish transforms under-used infrastructure into cultural real estate. A petrol station becomes a plaza. A public square in disguise. What sets Relish apart is its ethos. 'The food is halaal,' Patel says, 'but the space is for everyone.' In South Africa, where halaal dining is often sidelined or stereotyped, Relish integrates it seamlessly. Every ingredient is certified, every supplier vetted; not to exclude, but to build trust. That trust draws a diverse crowd: students debating gigs, healthcare workers unwinding, older patrons savouring morning lattes. Upstairs, conversations spill into the night; downstairs, the wood-fired oven flickers, coffee cups clink and strangers become regulars. This fluidity mirrors Joburg's evolving identity, a city of hybrid spaces for hybrid lives. Historically shaped by division and utilitarian planning, Jozi now finds belonging in places like Relish, open 24 hours, to all. The global halaal food market, projected to grow from $2.5 trillion this year to $5 trillion by 2033, reflects the rising demand for ethical, transparent food; not just among the world's two billion Muslims, but across demographics. South Africa, with 80% of supermarket products halaal-certified, has long lacked consistent, high-quality halaal dining at odd hours. Relish fills this void. Relish isn't just feeding Jozi, it's reshaping its nights, softening its edges. Where once there was fuel and function, now there's flame, flavour and fellowship. As Patel puts it: 'We're feeding Jozi's soul, one plate at a time.' Under the warm hum of a reimagined service station, it's not a tagline, it's the rhythm of a restless city, reborn.
Vogue
2 days ago
- Business
- Vogue
Rhinebeck Welcomes Little Goat, a Charming All-Day Café and Bakery With Nancy Meyers-Inspired Interiors
Not much is ever truly new in Rhinebeck. 'The businesses there have been around for a long time—it seems like forever,' Hudson Valley resident and Inness hotelier Tavo Sommer says of the historic town. Which is why when a store in a restored 18th-century townhouse finally did become available on Main Street, it wasn't even a question that he'd sign a lease. The only question was whether someone else would beat him to it. Sommer prevailed. On May 28, he and longtime collaborator Erin Winters open Little Goat: a bakery, pantry, and all-day café that epitomizes that low-key countryside chic that the Hudson Valley is known for. 'We're calling it a cafe, a bakery, and a pantry because we want to hit all these different aspects of what we think the town needs,' Sommer says. Photo: Kate Sears What does that look like, exactly? There's bread from nearby Sparrow Bakery, cheeses from Talbott & Arding, and balsamic vinegars from Flamingo Estate. On an entry table, abundant flower arrangements come courtesy of famed florist Ariel Dearie. (Some of her repeat customers? Sofia Coppola, Marc Jacobs, and Annie Leibovitz.) Grab-and-go food, including rotisserie chicken, are ready for the taking. In the back, waiters serve Mediterranean-inspired dishes like flatbread with broccoli rabe, stracciatella, and Calabrian chili, as well as grilled Hudson Valley steelhead trout from a menu by executive chef Brian Paragas (previously of Blackberry Farm and Zahav).
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Almost Studio's Mandarin Café In Two Bridges Is A Design Lover's Dream
The Mandarin by Almost Studio Near the Brooklyn Bridge, a new café stands out on Madison Street. The Mandarin, a cool, design-forward cafe located at 113 Madison St. in Two Bridges, is a gathering spot for New York's creative community and locals. The hub is designed by Brooklyn-based design practice Almost Studio, co-founded by architect Anthony Gagliardi and architectural designer Dorian Booth, who are a stylish duo known for their unorthodox uses of space, their Instagrammable style, and a conceptual approach to materials. Their fashion world credibility includes designing the Sandy Liang store in the Lower East Side and the Love's h|Edge installation in Times Square. The duo have also collaborated on designs for a Chloe flagship store in Paris, participated in museum exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Yale University, and are currently exhibiting as part of the Time Space Existence exhibition at the Palazzo Mora in Venice for the Venice Architecture Biennale. Inside The Mandarin by Almost Studio It all comes down to our love of abstraction, in a time when architectural silhouettes are trending from brands like Viktor & Rolf, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, Givenchy, Rokh, Duran Lantink, and Victoria Beckham's latest runway looks. For The Mandarin, Gagliardi and Booth wanted to reference two things; the earth art at the Hopewell Culture in Circleville, Ohio, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the abstract painting of hard-edge modernist painter, Ellsworth Kelly, whose artwork is on view at the Museum of Modern Art. The Mandarin by Almost Studio 'All of our projects are heavily influenced by precedent and reference; from both art and architecture,' said Gagliardi. 'The references are always a combination of specific projects from an extremely wide range of time periods. The Mandarin was influenced by the Hopewell Culture Earthworks from 100 BC and an Ellsworth Kelly painting from 1963. We always find new and surprising combinations and connections from past eras.' The café uses warm earth tone hues combined with sharp, bold shapes for doorways, tables and ceiling lights. It's what Gagliardi calls a community hub. 'We wanted to create a place of gathering, both for community and performance, as well as a place of daily ritual,' he said. The Mandarin by Almost Studio In the Two Bridges neighborhood, the café has become a gathering place for the creative community. The café attracts musicians, actors, photographers, social media influencers, fashion designers and third-generation Chinese grandparents, among others. The Mandarin's co-founders Jessica Tjeng, who founded her own production studio, and Bart Ackermans, a psychoanalyst and Dutch model, overlap with the café's clientele. Kelly's 'Red Blue Green' painting from 1963 was also a point of inspiration. 'Every project within our studio begins with references of artists and artworks,' said Gagliardi. 'Ellsworth Kelly's famous artwork is another lens through which to understand the relationships between people and place,' he said. 'The limited color palette allows us to flip between readings of positive and negative space, which leads to a level of ambiguity that all public spaces require.' The Mandarin by Almost Studio Light artist James Turrell, who recently collaborated on perfume bottles with Lalique, has also been a point of inspiration. 'Through his light installations, James Turrell creates atmospheres,' said Booth. 'Our intention with the lighting, and for the design of the space overall, was to create an atmosphere for daily ritual.' The light at The Mandarin transforms throughout the day. 'It creates a constantly changing atmosphere that encourages and welcomes people back,' he adds. The Mandarin by Almost Studio Gagliardi and Booth followed the goal of the Mandarin owners, who wanted to make it a destination to be a welcoming, chill hideout. The Mandarin, which was named after the mandarin orange, is a lucky fruit in Chinese culture. They also have a mobile coffee cart that pops up at events, parties and photo shoots, called the Lucky Bar. 'The Lucky Bar is everything Chinatown, it's meant as an homage to Chinese heritage, without being in your face,' said Tjeng. 'It's made of all the symbols of good luck, good fortune and prosperity, as we have the good fortune of being in the neighborhood and represents our relationship to Chinese culture.'
