RUNNING A CAFÉ THE NON-CAPITALIST WAY

“Why Not Sell Coffee?”
Helena, another of the owners, informs me that the original idea was to open up a culture/art-centre where all kinds of art could blossom. “But a centre like that needs a cash flow to keep it going so we thought, “Why not sell coffee?”
The place is covered in artwork. On one wall is a piece made by a graphic designer, all the tables have some kind of doodles on them, and the windows are painted by an artist. Every Wednesday night conservationist group Náttúruvaktin is going to have an open discussion about their agenda. Thursday nights are movie nights where arty and documentary films will be shown and Saturday nights are concert nights.
A Coffee Shop with a Manifesto
“Last week we had a panel discussion every day during lunch break and at the end of the week it was crowded,” Ásgeir and Helena tell me. They had Dada Maheshvarananda, a professor of freedom studies, over from America to talk about free trade and explain the philosophy behind the concept. Ásgeir says that one of the purposes for opening a café is to “show people that there are other ways, other than the capitalist way, to run a place like this.” Hljómalind café is unique in our city. It’s organic, it’s non-smoking and it has a manifesto.