Riga’s coffee story began here. All Cappuccino—20 years of family coffee history

About the world, New York and coffee in Riga in 2004

How did the owners’ family come up with the idea to open a café in Riga 20 years ago?

The owners of All Cappuccino were travelling a lot at that time and, after living in New York for a while and incorporating take away coffee into their daily routine (which, by the way, warmed their hands on chilly mornings), when they returned home to Riga they realised that the city was missing a place like it, which back then was called an espresso bar, where you could enjoy real and good coffee, and have it made for take away. And here it is—favoured by many. Now the whole family runs the business—with two of the three children helping out with the daily tasks.

So, can we feel the New York influence here?

No, it’s more of a world view. As one designer aptly put it, a New Yorker’s nostalgia for European coffee traditions.

And what was the first response from the people of Riga?

At first customers were shocked: “99 santims for a coffee? Why— that much?”, but ever since opening the doors, we have established a sense of belonging and a belief in good, quality coffee, and a habit for customers to spend their time here. It was also a time when coffee was demanded and available until 11PM every day and until 1AM on Fridays.

About those who come twice

Who were the first visitors at the time?

Friends, acquaintances, artists, writers, politicians… Families living nearby, whose celebrations and children’s growth we had the pleasure of witnessing. But in general we have always liked to speak figuratively about our customers, and here I will quote what has been everlasting throughout these years: “Every day at All Cappuccino is as different as the people themselves. The most important thing is that these people are willing to turn their everyday lives into small, but nevertheless festive occasions. And so, day by day… strangers become fellow companions.” Our observation, which has become an endearing phrase for us: “You come once. You come twice. And what happens twice undoubtedly happens a third and fourth time”.

About the carrot cake, breakfast biscuits and the All Cappuccino almond man

It has been heard that there is a man, who comes every morning and buys all of the Breakfast cookies. Is it true, that if you want to enjoy these cookies, you must manage to arrive before him? Does this mean that, in addition to excellent coffee, the All Cappuccino family has also managed to create something unique in their selection of food and snacks?

Yes, over the years coffee classics such as espresso, black coffee and black coffee with milk, have been complemented by various other ways of serving coffee and on-trend drinks like matcha latte. The All Cappuccino owners are involved in the creation of all the pastries from A to Z, starting with the recipe itself.

And it’s true—some of the sweets have become story-worthy. The case of the breakfast biscuit. As well as the All Cappuccino almond man, named by our guests, which we actually created ourselves several years ago for Christmas season, but then it became such a must-have among our customers that it has remained indispensable. We have seen a lot of adventures with it in our cafés—parents biting the leg off of the little man shaped pastry as a joke, afterwards their child getting upset, and we are rushing to save the day with a new All Cappuccino man. A lady on the way to the airport always buys them in bulk. And what we see on Instagram—the various adventures our All Cappuccino almond man ends up in. I could go on and on about the recipe of each of our products, the selection of ingredients we’ve tried, but, above all, the role they have played in people’s everyday lives is such an unpredictable adventure, in which we are inevitably pulled in.

Of course, the classic carrot cake—with just the right amount of cream and spices—is an unchanging value, a so-called bestseller.

About interiors, things and places that can and can’t be changed

Back to the story of returning to Riga and opening the café 20 years ago. The first one—on Antonijas Street. You recently renovated the café, but you didn’t revolutionise it. I would call it courage and the ability to create a design that is always au courant. How have you managed it?

Yes, the very beginning of the interior of the Antonijas Street café illustrates the impressions of a family travelling around metropolises and wanting to create that feeling of the world here in Riga. Back then, 20 years ago, this vision of the owners was perfectly interpreted in real life by the designer Daneks Sietiņš, who designed the Antonia café.

With the passage of time, 4 years ago there was a need to renovate the interior. It was a difficult decision—how to go about it without destroying the whole feeling that this café was born with and to which our clients are accustomed to, why they come here, and what keeps them here. It was a huge responsibility, which we felt we have managed successfully by bringing in artist Daria Melnikova. As a result, also the café on Vilandes Street has undergone a positive change.

We didn’t really know how to achieve what we wanted, but Dasha (that’s what we call our Daria) was fantastic in capturing the feeling of what we were missing and did even better than we had intended. Regular visitors say: “There’s something new here, but I can’t figure out what”. That’s the way we like it—to move with the times without undermining what is familiar, dear and real.

We talk a lot about the Antonijas Street café. But what about Vilandes Street?

Of course, both cafés play an important role and are affectionately called “sisters”.

There have been several open cafés in our history, but All Cappuccino on Antonijas Street has always been the right one to catch that real, initial vibe or mood that cannot be artificially created. Our cafés have a similar vibe of those old Milanese and Parisian cafés of which only the connoisseurs and locals know about. So, in order to find the real, authentic one, you must ask around.

When Antonijas street had already solidified its place in the city, one day while accidentally driving to the office along an unusual route, the owner of All Cappuccino noticed that there were premises for rent in a very quiet (at that time) area. The place instantly caught his attention and within a week a contract was signed. History repeated itself despite many customers, acquaintances and passers-by being sceptical and not believing in the success of a café in such a location. By now, it is open for its 16th year, and it is as successful as that of Antonia Street. It is very common to find a customer starting the morning with a coffee in Vilandes Street and then in the second half of the day coming to Antonijas Street or vice versa, depending on the daily route of each customer.

What does All Cappuccino mean to you? How long have you been with the All Cappuccino family?

I started working at All Cappuccino as a barista 10 years ago, straight after finishing school. Once I was here, I realized that the attitude towards any employee here is about building long-term relationships. And—here I am—as the day-to-day manager of Antonia Street Café.

The general idea with All Cappuccino is that once you start, you stay. Probably because it’s all for real. That’s how and why we at All Cappuccino have been working here for years, alongside the creators of All Cappuccino—and their entire family. That’s the unique charm of this place—all of us and our guests—meeting every day. A lot of the clients have become fellow acquaintances, every second client says hello as you walk down the street. Every day I have the feeling that at All Сappuccino we have our own “bar centrale”, like in the small towns of Italy.

Will anything change after these 20 years?

No, what makes All Cappuccino special is that it can change with the times, but seamlessly, so that everyone keeps it as “their coffee place”. We wish ourselves and our guests „20 years—endless cups“ as we celebrate this special 20-year milestone.

In the quiet center of Riga, many coffee shops are opening, variously trendy, ordinary and unusual. But nowadays “trend and style” is often a temporality, while the family-like, simple and warm atmosphere remains for a long time. You know that feeling, don’t you? When we go to Milan, Paris or Amsterdam, we are looking for that real and authentic café. We want to make sure that many people know that there is such a place in Riga, and they will come back here for at least another 20 years.