Is Cork ready for a nighttime café scene?

For many Corkonians, the city is a daytime destination, but this might be set to change.

Coffee House Lates, a pilot initiative, saw a dozen independent coffee houses keeping their lights on late on a recent Thursday night and Friday night initiative, as part of the city’s vision for a new night-time economy.

The idea is not to displace Cork pubs, but to offer more choice to people looking to come to the city after dark.

Certainly, there were all sorts of events brewing around the city over the two nights – from coffee tastings to art exhibitions, live music, knitting circles, a festive craft fair, and comedy shows.

Nádúr Deli hosted a gorgeous event that spread out to the Nano Nagle Place courtyard. Attendees were entertained with live jazz and treated to a festive ferments demo by Ivo from Terra Ignis, and a complimentary spiced mulled apple with every purchase.

It was all about local fare, with Nadúr co-owner Kristin Makirere sharing that the mulled apples came from Future Orchards, a co-operative in Glanmire.

Nano Nagle also opened late for the event, allowing visitors to wander around their gorgeous shop inside, again selling lots of local goodies as potential Christmas gifts.

The atmosphere was decidedly Parisian with fairy lights sparkling in wet trees.

Clare Condon, of Nádúr Deli, said at the event: “We love the concept of Coffee House Lates and we are blown away by the turn-out to our event at Nádúr Deli on the plaza of Nano Nagle Place. There is such a buzz and guests are loving the whole experience of food, drinks, jazz and shopping in the outdoors with sparkling festive lights.”

“It’s clear,” she added “that people are looking for unique experiences in the evening. It’s certainly something we would like to do more of.”

Jazz was in the air elsewhere in the city too.

At 115 Café, a Jazz Jam featuring their talented house band and surprise guest musicians created a soulful soundtrack for the evening.

Down the road from Nano Nagle, Café Moly delighted coffee lovers with a global tasting experience, offering four complimentary taster cups of coffee from around the world.

The turn-out was great with owner Daniel Garrett suggesting that the new pottery shop across the way, is lively every night – a testimony to people’s desire for more than what pubs have to offer.

Asked if they would like to open later more regularly, Daniel was unsure.

“We actually live upstairs. It would be difficult for us to leave the café and for it to stay open, so it’s a work/life balance issue for us. Certainly, we can see there is an appetite for change in the city.”

Referring to our usual reliance on drinking for entertainment, the young owner added, “It might just be that we’ve grown up.”

Customers certainly seemed to be enjoying their free offerings of global coffees. And there were more free goodies for wanderers to enjoy at Bubble Butter Cafe, where equally generous hosts were serving complimentary Christmas marshmallow pops and gingerbread cookies with every purchase.

Around the corner from Café Moly on George’s Quay, Filter launched an inspiring art exhibition by Silvo Severino and offered a first taste of their winter drinks menu alongside free mini pastries.

Severino is a Brazilian artist who works in analogue and digital collaging. His re-working of Berlin’s street art added to the European feel of the event.

Darren McAdam O’Connell was there to soak up the atmosphere and was loving his stop in Filter, having attended two other exhibitions in the city beforehand.

“It is really great to live in a city with such culture. I keep my eye out for what’s going on in the city and there is a lot on offer.”

Two small puppies, held by their adoring owners, ed the queue in The Grumpy Bakers on Washington Street.

DJ Manny kept spirits high with an ‘Oldies but Goldies’ Christmas DJ mix, attracting young and old to the venue.

Complimentary homemade Spiced Mealagulla Apple Punch, Ó Conaill’s hot chocolates, and warm mince pies made the event all the sweeter.

Assistant Manager Becca Twomey said having the doors open encouraged wanderers to pop in for a look.

Recalling the popularity of Tribes on Tuckey Street for generations past, Twomey said a non-drinking venue is a real appeal for younger people today.

“It’s not just older people coming in. There are plenty of young people, say in their twenties, who are calming down a lot and want to socialise without the drinking element. We’re offering them that space.”

Music seems to be a big draw in general.

Duke’s Coffee Company hosted live music by Mike O’Riordan, and The Lee Café hosted a gorgeous choral performance by Cór Bláth Oraiste.

Greenwich Café was home to something different – a Knit Night in collaboration with Stolen Stitches, with knitters of all levels coming together to craft, connect, and enjoy complimentary treats.

Owner Dermot O’Leary spoke after the event about the challenges facing small outlets in the city.

“We’re not quite there yet in of a broader night-time economy. We are a city in transition, but these kinds of collaborations are exactly what we need to revive streets. Half of the people who came into the event hadn’t been in the city at night for years. This was particularly true for people over 40.”

The owner is hopeful for the future.

“We will wait for the old Roches Stores to open again – that will make a considerable difference to us, but there is huge potential. We opened three years ago and just look at how MacCurtain Street has transformed in that time. Yes, we’ve lost businesses in the city but we can work together to help one another.”

The second night of the initiative was equal to the first, with a broad range of activities and attractions.

Café 115 hosted a comedy showcase, featuring local comedians Daniel Lukas, Donal McSweeney, and Chris McShane. A Christmas Craft Fair lit up the Lough Café in of Cork Penny Dinners, and Vinyl Brews at Plugd Records offered sample non-alcoholic beverages, including kefir and kombucha from My Goodness.

Reflecting on the initiative’s success, Aaron Mansworth, President of the Cork Business Association, said the event “was a fantastic showcase of Cork’s vibrant coffee and tea scene and shows how we can attract different people into our city. We are delighted to partner with Cork City Council on Coffee House Lates, a Cork Night-Time Economy initiative. It’s a testament to what’s possible when we work together to expand our evening economy”.

Aidan Duke, of Dukes Coffee, said they are going to look at opening late more in the New Year “as there seems to be demand there for it”.

Fiona Collins, Cork City Council’s Night-Time Economy Advisor, praised the enthusiasm of the participating businesses.

“The response has been phenomenal. [The] events highlighted the potential for Cork to embrace a more diverse evening scene. We hope businesses will continue exploring extended hours to meet this demand.”

The Cork Night-Time Economy Initiative, facilitated by the Cork Business Association (CBA), was developed to showcase Cork’s unique coffee house culture and respond to the growing demand for alcohol-free evening activities in the city for locals and tourists alike.

The hope is that the pilot scheme will encourage independent coffee shops to extend trading hours, even one night to begin with, as part of Cork City Council’s ambition to extend the city’s late-night entertainment offering.