After starting washing dishes in 1995, Dayle Richards worked his way through the hospitality industry to own and operate a small local business, The Vinyl Cafe. With a lot of change in the New Zealand coffee business over the last ten years, Richards still enjoys the experience of crafting quality coffee.
As he gradually shifted from kitchen to front-of-house work, coffee was a natural progression for Richards. Upon working his way up to becoming an NZ sales manager for a local Hummingbird Coffee, he spent 12 years in the position before launching his own personal business in Christchurch.
The most rewarding aspect of Richards job is the customers. Growing a local customer base and finding something to laugh about is a significant part of the hospitality experience that Richards loves. He found that many places today lack easy and friendly service, so Richards established Vinyl Cafe to balance good food, coffee, and old-fashioned service.
“There have been a lot of good old NZ coffee companies being sold to the off-shore market. People should hutn a truly local cafe or roastery and support them.”
“Coffee is so subjective,” explained Richards, which is why Vinyl Cafe caters to anyone's preference with their on-site coffee roasters. With 600-gram and one-kilogram coffee roasters, customers can pick exactly what kind of roast they want. And as alternative milk has become increasingly popular, Richards believed it should be made to the same standard as its counterpart.
When Richards is not behind the coffee machine or enjoying his favourite Doppio drink, he enjoys spending time with his three kids, playing sports, and, more recently, practising his craft in distilling.
