Lyttelton Favourite Finds Its Feet Again

The Lyttelton Coffee Company is once again giving locals their daily fix of caffeine, as it returns to business after the 2011 earthquakes forced its doors to close.

The London Street hotspot was a favourite for locals before the deadly quakes forced it to close.

Even with the café out of action, they continued to provide for locals.

Manager Tessa Brodie said in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes, they rescued the coffee machine from downstairs and provided free coffees for a couple of weeks.

“It was awesome to be able to do that for our community,” she said.

“Then when we set up a make-shift café in a garage, it became a meeting spot for everyone.”

The reopening was a long time coming, and the café relies on word of mouth to bring people back in.

That word seems to be paying off.

Lyttelton locals Melanie Betts and Brita Corbett say they had their noses pressed against the windows for about a year waiting for the time to come.

“There’s always been a café that people go to, but as the population grew this just became ‘the’ place,” Betts said.

The café isn’t a franchise, and that sees it serves a greater diversity of people, something that’s a big draw card according to Corbett.

“It’s a casual space, some big tables and some small. When you look around you don’t see anyone in suits, and that’s what Lyttelton is,” Corbett said.

Café owner Stephen Mateer is all about roasting good quality coffee. Blended with the quality service Lyttelton Coffee Company provides, and this local hotspot is well and truly back on its feet.