The world is changing and the way that we enjoy ourselves is changing with it.
Nights spent bouncing from club to club and waking on a Sunday morning with an empty wallet and a cloudy recollection of what actually happened from Friday evening to Sunday morning are a thing of days gone by.
Today, people prefer to spend their money on experiences that they’ll remember the next day!
Tapping into the change is small batch coffee roaster, Bravo Tango.
The company – which started some eight years ago in Moy – now operates from their base in Portadown selling their Guatemalan single origin coffee and equipment online.
But their physical presence is just as strong – and it’s growing intensity by the day.
To tantalize the tastebuds of those who miss the party scene – or indeed have rarely experienced it – Bravo Tango have launched a collaborative effort to help reinvigorate local nightlife with a nostalgic throwback to the 90s club scene with their new Coffee House Sessions.
Coffee House Session Volume 1 is due to take place in Groucho’s Bar and Restaurant, Richhill on Sunday July 20, with cocktails, coffee and beats from DJ OisÃnOK.
Speaking to Armagh I about the inspiration for the gig, Company Director Richard Cassells explained: “To me, Bravo Tango is a community of people looking for really exciting, fresh events to attend.
“We have done events recently like Pilates on the beach and a gym work out on the beach and a sauna experience up in Cranfield so we kind of see that people love to do a workout and get a coffee.”
Coffee goes with everything, says Richard and he has a lot of ideas for how they can continue to marry their company with other independent businesses across the country.
“The whole thing about the coffee house sessions, the world has changed now. I’m of an age where I don’t want to go out and have a lot to drink and be up to 2am in the morning and not up for my kids the next day. It has just changed but it doesn’t take away from the fact that everyone wants a good time.
“We have a special DJ coming up from Belfast who is going to do chilled house music and we have two specialist baristas that are going to come in and doing a whole lot of coffee related drinks and Groucho’s are hosting the event in their beer garden and they are going to do cocktails like espresso martinis and things like that.
“We are not anti-alcohol or anything like it. It’s just, you don’t have to go and get drunk. You can have a nice time, families are welcome, I’m bringing my kids up.
“We just want to make it a really good, different event, in a beer garden and if people want a few drinks too they can.”
This is their first attempt at running an event of its kind and if all goes well, there are most certainly plans to continue elsewhere.
Said Richard: “Any of the events we have held so far it has been just that and it creates a sense of community.”
The team at Bravo Tango also see merit in bringing experiences to areas that don’t ordinarily have an awful lot happening, like the more rural area of Richhill.
“We love collaborating with other local businesses that are also supporting local and doing things well,” he said.
“Mervyn [owner of Groucho’s] tries his best to do everything locally and sources small artisan companies and I love that we all support each other and we all get a turn out of it.
“Belfast is Belfast… there’s always stuff going on there but this is about doing something different locally.”
Coffee House Session Volume 1 will take place between 2pm and 6pm on July 20 with free entry – good vibes only.
