Enter the oasis of kaya Café

Come as you are to KAYA Café, and find out about the oasis of opportunity which they have curated in the Mother City.

KAYA Cafe, a hidden gem found on lower Loop Street

The KAYA Café is turning 2 years old in October 2024, and we thought what better time to dive into the story, the values, and the people that have built this oasis of creativity, community & collaboration.

Max Osse (co-founder) had just founded Table Mountain Water with his brothers, when he approached Brad Farrell (co-founder) about opening a coffee shop that would not be just another coffee shop in the CBD, but something completely different. Max approached Brad, who was already in the creative scene through his media company CAYA Creative Studios, to bounce some ideas around.

There was a space on Loop Street which was accessible but wasn't being used. Brad had a background in events, but not in food and beverage, so he pulled in Gina (co-founder & Head of Brand at CAYA Creative Studios) who loves cooking and is an incredible host, with an unspoken dream to run her own restaurant. 

As busy as Gina and Brad were at that time in their respective lives, Gina finishing off her third year at UCT and Brad having just finished his B. Com, the idea of starting something new wasn't at the forefront of their minds. However with such a good opportunity in front of them, they took the plunge and decided to go for it!

Moving forward with the goal of differentiating themselves from the plethora of coffee shops in the city, and having access to equipment and a network from Brad’s experience in the live sound and events industry, they set upon the task of staging a variety of shows and events.. Having friends in the art scene who shared their experiences of the cliquey-iness of the fine art gallery culture, as well as the challenges of entering that space, they realised it was an opportunity to showcase local artists and entrepreneurs, and slowly the concept of the cafe was born. 

Where they struck gold was with their rotational schedule, featuring artists and vendors on a three month cycle, making it as accessible as possible and to give other local businesses and artists a chance, especially those who primarily operate online or at markets, providing a physical space, even for a short while.

Once they had the space, they built it up from scratch, stripped it bare, and filled it with repurposed hotel furniture, with Max and his brother Timo (co-founder)building whatever else they needed. Which is why walking into the space you feel this warmth, and sense of homeliness. 

Gina Alpert at KAYA Café

Where does the name “Kaya Café” come from?

Gina: Well it originated from our media company with the Creative Studio. “CAYA” stands for “Come As You Are”, and for us it means that people should be able to express themselves, without having to hide the part of themselves that often brings so much spark into this world. For business reasons we had to differentiate ourselves from the studio, so we took inspiration from the Turkish word for coffee, kahveh, and changed the C to a K, so that we could still carry the same message of authenticity through. Even more so, because the cafe gave a physical space to what we were trying to do with the creative studio.


I love how KAYA Café carries a part of all of you, each adding your own touch to the space

Brad: This space in every way is the product of the creators that come through it, and that was always what we wanted it to be, we wanted it to be a ‘first step’ space. If you’re a musician, this isn’t, and shouldn't, be, the biggest show you’ll ever play. We have a lot of people who come and do their first show here, or come perform at an open mic night. Having a good experience at those places is so important. And the same goes for the visual art side of things. We love the fact that we could be a part of the scene, and we just wanted a space that could act as a springboard for artists to try things. This space is all the people on the posters on the wall, it's the various people that could come be a part of the community and leave their mark on it. Without them it's just the four walls with a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

The myriad of features that make up the collage of KAYA Cafe, from the featured art on the walls to the repurposed hotel furniture

Going from that initial vision, looking back at your experiences over the past two years, how would you describe the community that you’ve built, or that has formed around KAYA Café?

Brad: Part of it has always been that we have had so many communities be a part of this space. From the artists that have come into the space, to the musicians that have performed, and even the music fans, to people that have been coming more and more regularly, it definitely isn’t one singular cohesive community. 

Gina: With our clientele or audience, our evening trade is very different from our day trade, so it’s been interesting to reconcile because our offering is quite varied. At least for us, we have built so many different connections that it's kinda like webs that have spread out. Someone might come to an event and they’ll meet someone else, and they’ll create a whole separate event together, whether it's here or somewhere else, and that's been a great thing for me to see. Not just us connecting with people, but connecting other people as well.

It's definitely been something on my mind more recently, feeling like I want to strengthen that community. I really want people to know that we are here to support them and try to facilitate or bring to life what they want, whether it's just somewhere to work or have a coffee or building an event series.

If you look at our logo, which was created by Nishaat Williams who ended up being our first KAYA Coffee artist, with the two hands around the name, that’s kind of what we were going for with the branding, a helping hand, holding the community 

A promotional poster for the Friday Night Live series hosted at KAYA

What all goes into running a space like KAYA Café? For an “inexperienced” team, you guys have really created a space that feels homely and welcoming, and I’m curious as to how you go about operating and curating a space like this.

Brad: Firstly, thank you, that's exactly what we try to do, we want it to be comfortable. A lot of Cape Town spaces feel cliquey and like you have to fit in, and that definitely isn't what you want. “Come as you are” after all. 

Gina: I personally have never liked that feeling of cliquey-ness, if I go to a certain place and I feel isolated from everyone else, where it doesn't feel welcoming. We’ve been meaning to write our house rules on the walls, we want everyone to feel that this is a safe space, but also “come in and let your freak fly!”

On the topic of curating the art and vendor cycles, I spearhead that adventure every three months. We have an open application form, which anyone can apply to. If you have put hard work into it, and we can tell that you’re passionate and the product is viable to be in the space, then we’ll have you. It’s not really about what we like personally, we try to give everyone an opportunity. In that way we have sort of let the applications lead the curation in a sense in the end.

The form is really important to us because it helps us gauge the intention behind the applicant. Even if you don't necessarily have all your admin sorted, if you share with us why it's important, we’re way more willing to help you get to the point that you have everything that you need to be in this space, as opposed to someone who is just like “I have this stock and I’m just looking for a place to put it”.

The recent Cape Town Thrift Link Up Event

Would you then say that passion and channeling that passion through to KAYA Café, plays a part in the curation of the space? 

Brad: The “Why” is definitely more important than the “What”. Art is so subjective in any case, that I think our general practice has often been to gravitate towards the people who put in the time and effort, and are pleasant to work with, the people whose passion drives them. Intent has always been a major part of this space.

Gina: If we have two identical products submitted to us, we go with the artist that is going to tell us why they’re doing what they’re doing over the same product where the person just wants to put their items in here and not have anything to do with the space afterwards. Seeing that intent in the application makes it easier to be more objective in terms of the product. In the end there are things that I personally wouldn't buy or don’t see the appeal of but that doesn't matter because they’re really passionate about it.

 

Having established the intent behind KAYA, and curated that for the past two years, what is the vision for you going forward?

Brad: The brand is certainly bigger than this space, and we’re hoping to make use of the networks that we’re building to grow into something bigger, but there are a lot of scale limiting factors, and more importantly impact limiting factors. 

Gina: We’ve already started bringing the brand outside of the space. Earlier this year we set up a stage at the Up The Creek Festival, and that was really great for us, to be able to go further with the artists that we made connections with. We definitely would like to have our own mini outdoor festival, and I’m just going to keep saying it until it happens!

Other than that, a glow up is definitely on the cards. As much as we are all for the homely Come As You Are eclectic space, Cape Town definitely loves an aesthetic, and we would love to bring the two concepts together

KAYA Night Cafe


We’ve noticed you promoting “KAYA Night Café” recently, what’s behind the new initiative?

Gina: It's something we started at the beginning of August, it's kind of something we always wanted to do. A cosy space in the evening that isn't a club or a bar, just a space to chill with your friends, play some games, or do some work. A space that isn’t too hectic or too loud. To be honest we did it and said “lets see if the people want it”, and there has been a great response. The space becomes quite magical in the evening with the candles. It has also become a great testing ground for trying out new recipes as a dry run for expanding our menu, basically a test menu for us to play with. We have also been able to expand the space to new people, people who haven't been to the cafe before. 

For my final question I would like to touch on the elements of creativity and community that you’ve touched on. How would you describe the creative culture in Cape Town at this specific point in time? What would you say your role in the culture is, and what do you see the culture growing and developing into?

Gina: That’s quite a multi-faceted question. Maybe as a side effect of the COVID lockdown, or the realisation of our over consumption of social media, we have recently felt there is a strong desire for community and seeking it IRL. Not just in our space, there are all sorts of spaces that are introducing events for people to connect. Coming from being a divided, cliquey, almost disjointed environment, especially in the creative industry, it’s  hard to be successful in an industry that inherently engenders gatekeeping;,in that way we aren't really supporting one another.We don't feel threatened by someone else’s success because we’re only going to build each other up in creating a cultural scene. To really cement that we need a network of spaces working together.

Brad: How the industry was pre-COVID, especially for me coming from the music and events side, there are still elements of that, especially in the older parts of the scene. But I think the young people entering the scene, the talent that is feeding the scene, they just aren’t interested in that mindset. For us, starting when we started, with our ethos, the timing aligned with a lot of people who shared the same sentiment. I think the role we play has always been an oasis for creativity, community and collaboration, and the other part of that is being an oasis of opportunities. Beyond just the music and creative vision, we want this space to feel like you can come in and there’s possibility. Maybe it's just the opportunity to come in here and read a new book, or play a game, or see new art, but the opportunity is to add a little magic to your day, which we all desperately need. More practically we’ve wanted to provide opportunities especially for the artists, who have never had a front-facing role, to give them a spot on our walls for 3 months, or to have their first show, to make that easy and enjoyable for them. All that is interwoven into what we want to do, and we would love to continue to keep doing that, and to grow the oasis.

Gina: In so far as the creative space in the city, we ourselves have been a lot more intentional about engaging with other people, and doing other things with other spaces. That’s the interconnectedness that we’re going to need going forward. It’s not going to work if we’re all isolated and are just in it for ourselves. If we try something and it doesn’t work, we’re going to tell somebody and lend a hand. It is just about going forward and bringing humanness back into it, and talking and connecting with people. 

Brad: There is a lot of international attention right now on the continent and the country, a lot of heat, increasingly and deservingly so. There’s so much opportunity, and more and more investment flowing into the music and creative sectors, and a huge opportunity to translate that into actual sustainable careers for artists and creatives in this country. There is definitely a lot of work to do, and the infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired, but to be honest we’ve gotten this far without it. We are definitely excited about the people that we see coming through and the things that we see them doing, and it's been so amazing to watch these artists grow, artists like Luukanyo, Anica Kiana, Mila Smith, Pixie Whip, these artists that did their first show here and are now charting on national radio. Getting to see that makes us realise that there is definitely something happening, a flame is burning. 

Gina: It shouldn’t have to be so hard to make it in a creative pursuit, there should be infrastructure and places to go where you can slowly build up your knowledge and experience. Which is why our Google Form is the way it is. Through the process we try to teach you about what is required of you in the industry so that the next time you reach out to another venue, they will take you and your offering seriously. We have learnt a lot in the process of what we’re doing, so we want to share that knowledge. We want everyone to build up and be better together. Kindness is maybe a boring adjective, but it's needed so badly in this day and age.

@celvinbruton performing at Friday Night Live

KAYA Café is just another of those Cape Town spaces that make up the beautiful tapestry that is this city.

So much more than just one of the many other coffee shops in the CBD, KAYA is an active part of the creative landscape, and it’s inspiring to see the effort they put into engaging with the burgeoning artists that populate our beautiful home.

Pay them a visit on a casual Wednesday evening, a First Thursday, or for a Friday Night Live, and find out more about the oasis of creativity that they are curating. Whether you make new conncetions, meet your new favourite artist, or find yourself headlining their next show, their oasis has something new for you to discover, a new voice to be heard.

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