Prefab: big player in a small city

Wellington might be a relatively unknown and very tiny city in one of the most far flung corners of the world (New Zealand), but its burgeoning coffee culture and culinary scene rivals that of some of the world’s biggest.

Prefab photographed by @neatplaces

A photo posted by Prefab – Cafe, Hall & Lane (@prefabeatery) on Nov 11, 2015 at 4:52am PST

One café worth visiting (and visiting again) is Prefab – a well-refined food mecca and standout amongst its competition. Prefab popped up in early 2013 at a time when the rest of the city’s café were only just departing the signature Wellington hospitality-scene shtick of graffitied interiors, vegan salads, and aloof service. Designed and built from the ground up (including furniture, ceiling fans, napkin holders…) by owners Bridget Dunn and Jeff Kennedy, Prefab shunned all those usual Wellington café cliches – it boasts sleek and modern interior design, a dedication to self-sufficiency, service that’s beyond friendly and helpful (it’s familiar), and owners who are extremely hands-on.

Bridget manages the shop floor – covering around half of the 700 square foot open plan floor space – while partner Jeff takes care of roasting, brewing and serving their Acme & Co coffee. These two are stalwarts in the local hospitality scene. Jeff, often referred to as the ‘founding father’ of Wellington’s coffee scene, is well known in Australasia for his and Bridget’s iconic and very successful former project Caffe L’Affare. The pair run a tight ship of 50-60 staff with ease and confidence, and the very fact that they both work in the business, doing the ‘doing part’, is testament to why it’s so successful.

Asparagus in season and on the menu! #prefab #seasonal #asparagus x

A photo posted by Prefab – Cafe, Hall & Lane (@prefabeatery) on Sep 16, 2015 at 4:38pm PDT

Prefab is light and airy with an extra high stud. A huge kitchen accommodates the back section of the restaurant, pumping out freshly baked breads, a delicious array of seasonal menu items and daily specials, cakes, pastries and other delicious, fuss-free foods. Jeff’s coffee bar offers a more relaxed stall-side view of his roasting, brewing and cupping.

When we finally stop gawking around at the effortlessly designed building and Acme & Co bits and bobs long enough to order something to eat, we settle on a flat white, chia seed bircher muesli and a breakfast pizza. The flat white is delicious, and equally so the chia seed bircher muesli – a glorious concoction of indulgent creaminess, wholesome oats and seeds, and sweet and tangy seasonal fruits topped with the best in-house produced yoghurt I’ve ever tasted. The morning’s special, a breakfast pizza, was constructed from a homemade pizza dough and topped with bacon, buttery mushrooms and a perfectly just-under egg.

Saturdays #prefab #labourweekend #coffee

A photo posted by Prefab – Cafe, Hall & Lane (@prefabeatery) on Oct 23, 2015 at 6:14pm PDT

To compliment the café, Bridget and Jeff started Acme & Co, the brand behind their in-house baked breads and coffee, as well as a host of other functional and design objects. Their Acme & Co coffee cups and saucers are perhaps the best known of their objects, used in cafes from New Zealand to London, Melbourne and beyond, and revered for their sturdy build, bright and bold colours, and wider-than-normal handles (you can actually get your fingers through!).