The Herald asked some caffeine addicts for their thoughts on the surge in cafe numbers.
• El Cox and Kailan Durrant were at Ooton & Lincoln in South Freo, but they’re also big fans of Moore & Moore and Bread in Common. They reckon extra cafes bring more competition, drive down prices, increase diversity and keep cafes on their toes.
• Joan Hendry and Chadia Scheel were at Gino’s. They think more cafes help create a bustling energy like in Amsterdam and Berlin, with more off-beat options. But they warn Freo’s free one-hour parking (after which you have to pay) makes it difficult to visit inner-city cafes for any length of time. Ms Hendry thinks owning a cafe is a great idea.
• Petr Cervenka and Kiah Bouchet were enjoying a vegan breakfast with a long mac and smoothie at Manna, and say there might be a glut of cafes in Freo but there are many they wouldn’t mind seeing the back of. They’d both like to run a cafe, but definitely not together.
• Freo muso Jim Fisher loves Vanilla Bean, Wild Poppy and La Vespa and is usually at one of them by 9am. “It’s a bit sad that that it all there is—cafes”, he says of the old port city, noting he’s had to shift from his regulars. He loves Vanilla Bean because it has “real Italians providing great coffee and service”.
• Jay Wild says the more the merrier, as cafes help draw people (and potential customers for his surfwear business) into Freo. “You can park and go off to six cafes nearby.”
• Jodie Clarke was slurping down a juice and chick pea pattie at The Attic when the Chook caught her. She likes the variety all the new cafes bring, saying she chooses where to go based on the quality of the food and coffee, and the atmosphere.
Ootong & Lincoln has a G in it.