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.