Atheist Cafe/Cafe Bar

EmmettInc

I am playing with the idea of opening an Atheist Themed cafe/cafe bar in the Dublin City Centre area... Essentially it's just a novelty theme, idolizing the false god's of Hitchen's etc :P But I was just wondering if it could potentially not pay off as the niche is quite small, and the isolation of theists is quite a dramatically large demographic to be cutting out!

Any thoughts?

Gordon

If you serve food, you have to have flying spaghetti monster bolognese.

(Ateaist Café)

EmmettInc

I hadn't even thought so far ahead as to give the dishes funny atheist jargony names :P haha Totally gonna have that, and also maybe the "intelligently designed sandwhich" :P

Knasher

And you could serve tea from Russell's teapot

im invisible

no, just no

EmmettInc

Any reason in particular? Fingers crossed it's not for religious reasons!

sink

I doubt there is a large enough market for strictly atheist cafe to be sustainable. People tend not to travel far for a cafe so you really want to appeal to as broad a section as possible of the local catchment area.

EmmettInc

Yeah! That was my thinking... Just to be clear- all religions, beliefes, non-beliefs, secularists, agnostics etc. would be more than welcome It would just be the novelty- perhaps, reasonable and logical thinkers would be a better idea :P

Liamario

Hitchen's Kitchen

Gbear

Dead baby burgers...

Angel Tear soufflé?

Sarky

Don't advertise it as atheist. Just have religious themed dishes that point out certain silliness, like a bacon sammich called "The Kosher", or if you're serving fish, call it a capybara.

Bannasidhe

Will it have a sealed box with Beware of the Cat written on it?

Peregrinus

I'll be honest; it would be fun, but I don't think it will fly. Too many people would think

(a) that it might be serious. (Would you go to a "Christian cafe"? No? Well, a lot of people who would be slow to go to a Christian cafe would be equally slow to go to an Atheist Cafe, and for the same reason.)

(b) that it's a joke, but perhaps an embittered and embarrassing one. Trumpeting too much about what you don;t believe, what you reject, even when done in jest can point to a chip on your shoulder. I'm not saying that would be the case, but I think prospective customers would be put off by the thought that it might be.

If you were going to to this, I wouldn't present it as an atheist enterprise, but as something like a rationalist one (The Cafe of Pure Reason?).

Sarky

There's a creepy Christian cafe in Galway that seems to be doing just fine.

Peregrinus

Sarky wrote: »

There's a creepy Christian cafe in Galway that seems to be doing just fine.

Possibly. On the other hand, some Christians are happy to sustain loss-making enterprises, or enterprises providing a below-market return, as a form of witness. Unless EmmettInc has an atheist sugardaddy (or unless EmmettInc is an atheist sugardaddy) this may not be an option.

Turtwig

Don't see this working to be honest. It'd be fun alright, but not really necessary. That said, you could always do a science themed one I'm sure that would be cool and definitely novel.

wonderfulname

Jernal wrote: »

Don't see this working to be honest. It'd be fun alright, but not really necessary. That said, you could always do a science themed one I'm sure that would be cool and definitely novel.

There's a cafe in the science gallery, probably fills that niche.

BizzyC

The "theme" of the cafe isn't that important.

I don't care if my coffee is made using holy water. If it's good coffee, I'm buying.

Just Like Heaven

Could be fun. But as said earlier don't advertise it as an atheist cafe. Those 'hipster' cafes that are basically just wall to wall with trinkets often have loads of religious bits and bobs and it's cool enough.

robindch

What about "The Infi-Deli"?

Would like to see a "Comfort Split" with banana ice-cream.

kiffer

In Dublin? Don't you have to make some sort of Faustian deal to get affordable commercial rent in Dublin? I mean sure you can get a small premises off the beaten track for a little less but footfall... Footfall... ... great now I'm singing the skyfall theme with the word footfall.

iDave

I'm not sure if the inevitable protests outside your front door by 'offended' loonies would be good or bad for business

krudler

iDave wrote: »

I'm not sure if the inevitable protests outside your front door by 'offended' loonies would be good or bad for business

good, anything that offends religious nutters is by default brilliant.

Lingua Franca

Sarky wrote: »

Don't advertise it as atheist. Just have religious themed dishes that point out certain silliness, like a bacon sammich called "The Kosher", or if you're serving fish, call it a capybara.

I have bacon on order and arriving tonight with a friend from Ireland because I have a friend arriving from Tel Aviv in 2 weeks and she loooooves a bacon sammich!

Yes, I am an international bacon smuggler.

im invisible

kiffer wrote: »

footfall... Footfall... ... great now I'm singing the skyfall theme with the word footfall.

Let the footbow
When it crumbow
We will stand toe-oo-oh
Face it oow
together

EmmettInc

Yeah but there are a lot of creepy christians :P

EmmettInc

krudler wrote: »

good, anything that offends religious nutters is by default brilliant.

no such thing as bad publicity.... Right? Although inevitably there would be efforts made to tarnish the actually reputation ie. quality , service etc

MagicMarker

You know how some people refuse to buy coffee from Starbucks because they find it all a bit pretentious and generally just for gee bags?

Yeah, this is like that, but worse.

EmmettInc

robindch wrote: »

What about "The Infi-Deli"?

Would like to see a "Comfort Split" with banana ice-cream.

Where abouts this place based?

Tim Robbins

You could always open a science themed cafe and just fill it with atheist undertones - pictures of Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan etc.

I would say that's a better bet.

EmmettInc

Peregrinus wrote: »

Possibly. On the other hand, some Christians are happy to sustain loss-making enterprises, or enterprises providing a below-market return, as a form of witness. Unless EmmettInc has an atheist sugardaddy (or unless EmmettInc is an atheist sugardaddy) this may not be an option.

Unfortunately all my sugardaddy's are Catholics, and devout at that...