‘It’s not fussy; it’s just a nice time’: Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton opens new café in Hackney
“I think it should be like a home away from home,” Gus tells me on a cool, foggy morning in his shipping container turned café off a quiet street in London Fields.“It’s unpretentious, it’s warm, it’s comfy and we want the food and the wine to remind people why they love those things,” he adds confidently.
When you think about musicians and their careers, setting up a café would usually factor long after their time in the spotlight, but the calm and well-spoken keyboard player confesses he has always wanted to be a chef.
“I always wanted to be a chef growing up, I didn’t want to be a musician initially.“I always had a passion for food and drink and then I met Dan, (who is our chef) working in a wine bar in Clapham and made friends. He wanted to do his own thing and I was interested in getting involved, and it kind of just went from there.”
The men with the plan: Dan Wilson and Andy Leitch had already been partnered for two years previously. Gus recalls:“We had lots of meetings and drank lots of wine together and it all just fell into place.”
When asked about the origin of the name Gus laughed:
"They already had the name ‘Dandy’ - from Dan and Andy and the place becomes the name, when you think about Radiohead, you don’t think about what the name Radiohead means, they just are Radiohead and it was the same with Alt-J.
“I think it’s a great inoffensive, memorable short name.”
The understated nature of the café seems to fit perfectly with its location just off Broadway Market in London Fields, the much celebrated home of quirky, offbeat dining.
“I used to live very close to here, just across from Mare Street, so Broadway Market was the place where I would hang out with mates. I think this street in particular – Helmsley Place is great, there used to be nothing but scrap metal yards, and now there are a couple of other places opening up with us and I think we are lucky to be early adopters.”
Not one for others doing his dirty work Gus explains the transformation of the space from an empty shipping container to café.
“Before there was just shipping containers in this yard, there was no roof, there was nothing, it was just full of rubbish. I think it was an amazing opportunity to put in some really hard work and get a space that would otherwise be very expensive.”
Later on I ask him whether the idea to surreptitiously play the bands music over the speakers has ever crossed his mind, and he responds in kind:“It hasn’t crossed my mind, but if things get desperate in our careers, we may have to resort to that.”
Over the years Hackney has often been synonymous with gentrification and I wondered whether Dandy may be adding to this, but Gus was quick to respond:
“I don’t see it as a problem, I think having places with good food, maybe slightly more than you would pay for it before but its better than gang violence and people not being able to walk to the park without getting mugged.
“We aren’t trying to exclude anyone from coming in here and enjoying our food. I hope people will understand that.”
When asked about Joe and Thom’s reaction to Gus’s new venture, he grinned saying:
“They are really pleased, Joe likes to do a lot of music outside the band, mostly production and collaborations so I am quite excited to have my own thing going on outside the main event in my life.”
Dandy Café is now open and you can find out more information by visiting their website at http://www.dandycafe.co.uk.
