Bikes & Beans
Written by Anne Bedos of Cafe Rothar talks to DublinTown about her perfect day in Dublin.
My perfect day in Dublin begins with breakfast in Brother Hubbard on Capel Street, they have lovely bread and jams and lovely coffee so I’ll have a massive cappuccino with loads of breads. They have newspapers which is nice when you go on your own.
If I am inclined to go and have a drink or just have a bit of a dance I go to the Dice Bar. I also have a thing for the Lighthouse Cinema it’s very nice and very civilised. I’m a bit of a central north side type of person.
In this area there’s a couple of places I like. The cocktails in Drury Buildings are fantastic, best cocktails in town if you have ten quid to spend it’s really, really nice.
For food, I like the restaurant across the road L’Gueuleton, it’s a French restaurant and very handy for us. I’m a vegetarian and they have fantastic vegetarian options not only the usual butternut squash risotto that everybody serves to vegetarians, it’s great! We also have the advantage of having Fallon & Byrne around the corner for a nice sandwich.
Usually I spend most of my day in one of the bike shops, we have two other community bike shops outside of the city centre. Due to the layout of this building and its location in Fade Street we had the idea of opening our own little café on the ground floor. The idea was with cycling being on the uprise in Dublin that these people would need a nice area to hangout. We train loads of people behind the coffee machine so they become baristas and we train people downstairs in bicycle mechanics so that they can become bicycle mechanics. It’s a social enterprise, we work on donations by donators, we refurbish them (bicycles) & get them back on the road. In the process we put a lot of people back to work. We have a back to work scheme for ex-offenders, early school leavers & young offenders which gives them new skills & helps to give them a sense of satisfaction and worth. We find their self confidence goes through the roof as it is a very supportive environment.
As well as the social impact there is an environmental impact as we remove 1,500 bicycles a year from landfills.Depending on funding we would like to expand , it is definitely something that is in the pipeline.
One good thing about working in the city is that everything is on your doorstep, you can easily cycle from one area to another. I really like the different smells, atmospheres & people.
Anne Bedos – Owner of Cafe Rothar.
