NICK SEPIE
In a city that has lost so much, we love it when new businesses give a nod to the past.
New café owner Nick Sepie recently opened Dainty Café, which is a nod to his grandfather James Curnow’s Dainty Inn, a popular High Street milk bar operating between the 1940’s and 1990’s and only a few metres of where Nick is located.
Nick said he basically grew up in cafés as his mum and dad, Clare Curnow and Kevin Sepie, were also café owners, running a series of cafes throughout the city, including Perrys Café on Madras Street right up until the earthquakes. So, what we have here is a son following in his father’s footsteps two-fold.
After spending time in the UK expanding his hospitality knowledge, helping open more than 20 cafes over his time away, he knew that it was on the cards for him to do something.
Upon returning home, Nick worked for Allpress Espresso and Underground Coffee roasters when a cool space under the Muse Hotel Building became available. Nick jumped at the chance to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and to bring some old Dainty Inn charm to the 21st Century.
Nick’s coffee knowledge has depth, as does his coffee, so alongside your lattes and long blacks, he offers filtered coffee through the Chemex Coffeemaker (1941), which has been selected as one of the best-designed products of modern times and part of the Museum of Modern Art collection in New York.
Nick explains that he runs an ever-changing line of single-origin coffees, meaning that the beans come from a single farm or if the farm is not big enough, a region where the smaller farms form a co-op.
Nick also has a range of local teas from Mikaku, whose teas are a fusion of organic roots, leaves, fruits, and flowers, in their truest expression, combined with authentic tea bases.
Keeping things local with their foods using Grizzly Baked Goods pastries and bangin' Bagels along with eggs bene, smashed avocado, Bircher muesli, a mushroom dish and cabinet food of fresh scones and sandwiches.
If you are on the hunt for more depth in your coffee experience, pop in and say hi to Nick at the Dainty Café - a must for coffee lovers.