Father fixation

WORDS Lisa Johnston PHOTOS Andrew Berry 

VISI spoke to Nick Christowitz, part owner of Father Coffee, a trendy new place for Johannesburg city patrons to get their buzz on.

Apartment Therapy once described chevron as the “skinny jeans of design”, and given the hoards of students, hipsters and up-and-coming creatives flooding Father Coffee, a new roastery and coffee shop in Braamfontein, on Saturday mornings, it seems perfectly apt.

“I prefer the term herringbone,” says Nick Christowitz in reference to the zig-zag white ashwood that clads most of the small shop. The design and choice of cladding lends a warmth to the minimalist look and feel of Father, which despite being small in stature is big on trend and functionality.

The owners – Nick, Barry Weedon, Angie Batis and Chad Goddard – spotted a gap in the Joburg market for a quality artisanal-type roastery and staked their claim in the thin rectangular shop below the popular Neighbourgoods Market on Juta Street.  

The shop is, in fact, a concept store – an exercise in branding to showcase the “real” enterprise, which is to provide its own bean blend to businesses. As such, care has been taken in every aspect, delivering the brand through everything from its lettering to the arrangement of items on the service counter – a Mirage coffee machine takes pride of place. “The minimal design is a considered aspect,” says Nick. “It’s decorated but not filled with junk. There are no over-the-top elements.”  

This translates all the way through to their menu and the seating spaces with tables large enough to comfortably fit coffees, but too small to accommodate a laptop. “We didn’t want people sitting here working all day,” says Nick, “It’s not that kind of place. We wanted more of a New York style [outlet], with a quick turnaround. We have a sandwich of the day that is based on what is available at the deli that day, but we’d rather do a few really well done coffees than a whole lot of everything.”

“[For us] it’s about the feeling, we wanted to do coffee properly. It’s a return to the artisanal, but it’s not exclusive, it’s not intimidating. We have people from every walk of life coming in here. It’s about the experience of being seen in a beautiful place and enjoying a really good coffee.”

Father Coffee is situated on 73 Juta St, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 082 513 425, [email protected]. Follow @fathercoffee on Twitter and father_coffee on Instagram. 

Read more about the creative revolution happening in Braamfontein.

See some of VISI’s other favourite coffee haunts here.