It’s a cold, rainy Tues­day after­noon in the first day of win­ter. Why, it’s a per­fect day to go to the beach!

The occa­sion is the first day of busi­ness for the back-from-the-dead Maranui Cafe. After being dam­aged in a fire last year, escap­ing the threat of demo­li­tion and man­ag­ing to keep not just the build­ing intact but also the busi­ness, the cafe has been reborn, like a phoenix ris­ing from a pile of cof­fee grounds and sand.

While there’s still a lit­tle bit of work going on in the rest of the build­ing, the cafe is well open for busi­ness. It’s much like the old cafe, only with a fresh, shinier feel to it.

One mas­sive improve­ment is the sound-absorb­ing ceil­ing, which helps cut down the Sat­ur­day morn­ing echo cham­ber of doom ambi­ence old Maranui was noto­ri­ous for.

The new kitchen is bright, white, tiled and with one of the bet­ter views offered by a cafe kitchen in Welling­ton, is back in full effect. The staff seemed busy and buzzy and they have every rea­son to be.

The cheer­ful inte­ri­or was a per­fect place to be on such a crap­py win­ter day (espe­cial­ly after a tor­tu­ous­ly slow bus trip over on the #3), com­plete with a view of the tru­ly mis­er­able, grey Lyall Bay, that seemed to say, “Oh hai guyz. I’m a surf beach. Let’s go surfin’!!! Lol”. (Man, Lyall Bay is a dick.)

It’s real­ly good that Maranui Cafe is back. It’s quite dif­fer­ent from your stan­dard Welling­ton Cafe, and come sum­mer, the place will sure­ly be jam-packed.

But the best thing about the new Maranui — the all-impor­tant Maranui SLC vis­i­tors’ sign-in book is charred and smoky from the fire.