Clean air approach for cafe

Co-owners of the popular Heritage Coffee Co licensed cafe and venue in the warehouse precinct,...
Co-owners of the popular Heritage Coffee Co licensed cafe and venue in the warehouse precinct, Joe Considine (left) and Charlotte Maguire, say making their outdoor dining areas smoke and vape-free has been a positive move. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD
For the past year, customers at the popular Heritage Coffee Co in the warehouse precinct have enjoyed clean, fresh air with their food and beverages — inside and out.

Co-owners Joe Considine and Charlotte Maguire are committed to providing smokefree dining at the licensed cafe and venue — asking customers not to smoke or vape on the premises.

This includes the two outdoor areas — an internal courtyard and tables on the pavement outside on Jetty St.

"When we took over the business two years ago, we would get some people lighting up and the smoke would waft around and up to the offices above us," Mr Considine said.

"It wasn’t good, so we made the decision to move to smokefree dining."

Ms Maguire was grateful for the support of Linda Buxton of the Fresh Air Project, who had helped source smokefree dining signage.

The response from customers had been generally positive, and the smokefree signage made it easy for staff to draw people’s attention to it.

"People appreciate it.

"And for people with young children, it’s nice for them to have somewhere to go that they know will be smokefree," Ms Maguire said.

The couple were pleased their own son, Julian (2), would be part of a smokefree generation.

Heritage Coffee Co has expanded its offering to include monthly live music and will host a gig this Friday from 6pm, featuring Dunedin musicians John Dodd and John Egenes.

brenda.harwood@thestar.co.nz