A design-minded duo opens their second Auckland cafe, this one in Eden Terrace
Baby is the bold new cafe in Eden Terrace you need to visit
Tane Williams and Emma Lyell rehabbed a classic when they took over the space that is now Bestie, at the sunny end of St Kevins Arcade on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. They recently opened their second cafe, Baby, which is tucked away down a side street in Eden Terrace. “It’s been great discovering Eden Terrace as a little design enclave,” says Williams. “The area is crammed with shared spaces and design-minded businesses – hopefully Baby complements this and provides something yummy for lunch.”
You’re hidden away here. What was the attraction?
Tane Williams The kitchen. We’ve always made everything in-house at Bestie but were limited by the small kitchen – trying to bake nice cakes during a busy service was getting to be a bit of a nightmare. The kitchen here is huge and low foot traffic means the rent isn’t too crazy. We can now supply both Bestie and Baby and hope to expand into catering, cakes and wholesale in the future.
What was here before and what did you do?
Bluebells Cakery was in the space and put in the bones of the fit-out, including the cabinetry and leaner. Before that it was a classic lunch bar. We had to knock a few embellishments off the counter but, apart from that, all we had to do was add a bold paint job, change some light fittings, and sand back the timber. I used the old globe lights that hung in St Kevins Arcade – my hoarding finally paid off.
You’re a graphic designer by training, how does that play out?
Knowing how colour works and having exposed myself to a lot of design gave us more confidence to take a bolder direction.
Tell us about the furnishings.
The industrial lampshades and old X-ray lightbox are from Flotsam & Jetsam. Charlotte from Babelogue found us a beautiful rug to make the space feel cozy. We have Martino Gamper stools at Bestie and we bought a few more for Baby to connect the two in a subtle way. Plus, the colours fit really well.
We love the table. We love Formica, it’s a bit of a throwback. We had a local kitchen company produce the top, and our friend Steven Acers welded up a cool, simple base. It’s nice to have something kinda DIY and unique to fit the space perfectly.
Baby
76b France Street,
Eden Terrace, Auckland
Photography by: David Straight.
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