After running five cafes, including Normanville favourite One Little Sister, Ben Johnston and his wife are taking a different approach with their next venture: going small.
The husband-and-wife duo are behind Au Pomegranate, a tiny new corner-shop cafe set to open at 23 Sydenham Road in Norwood, the previous location of Louie’s Deli.
With just around 12 seats inside, the cafe will be a deliberately intimate affair.
“It’s a tiny, tiny space, a classic little corner shop,” Ben says.
“We’re looking to create a classic little local corner-shop hangout.”
Au Pomegranate will open during the day from Tuesday to Saturday, with Ben planning to keep the offering relatively simple rather than building an expansive cafe menu.
“We’ll just do a few things, but whatever we do, we hope to do very well,” Ben says.
The team will make its own bread for sandwiches and bake cakes in-house, Ben said.
“We always concentrate on making sure our product is of good quality.
“We’ll be concentrating on quality, especially with the coffee.”
Au Pomegranate will use Port Elliott based coffee company De Groot Coffee Co, with Ben and his wife working in the cafe themselves alongside a small team of staff.
The space has also undergone a facelift, with Ben describing the former shop as looking a little tired and in need of some attention.
“We’ve cleaned it up,” he says.
“We’ve tried to give it a new look by giving it some new energy and a bit of love.”
Rather than chasing a polished or overly formal cafe aesthetic, the aim is for Au Pomegranate to feel cosy and comfortable.
“We don’t want it to be too pretentious,” Ben says.
But the new cafe represents something of a shift for the couple.
“We’re downscaling and trying to get something small and a bit more manageable,” Ben says.
“By being smaller, we can keep it more personal. We don’t have to worry as much, and it’s not so demanding.”
Au Pomegranate is currently undergoing its final preparations, with Ben hoping to open as early as next week.
Au Pomegranate
When: Early September
Where: 23 Sydenham Road, Norwood
To find out more, click here.
