New Favourite Site of the Week 290509

I know that I go on about Duke Carvell's a lot - mostly on Twitter - but anyone who supplies me with amazing coffee should always be held up in a light that is brighter than the rest. If I had been on Twitter prior to my trip to the UK, there would have been MANY a mention of the amazing Matt from Fidels. I used to get a coffee off Matt every morning at about 7.30 on the way to work. Matt and his amazing long blacks were the perfect start to my mornings, and sometimes I would even get special messages on the top of my coffee cup:Right, large tangent. At any rate, Matt was to coffee what Google is to the Internet. They just worked together. However, things happen, Matt moved to Melbourne and Fidels just isn't the same.

So, since coming back from the UK, my new favourite place to get coffee is Duke Carvell's on Swan Lane. It is so nice and close to work, and I only had to explain how I like my long black once (for the record, it's a short-long black) and don't have to say anything now when I walk in. They just know. And that is how you get repeat business people - care about your customers, take the time to talk to them (asking their name is a great way to build rapport).  

At any rate, they have had a holding page site for quite some time, but they now have a beautiful new site up, which you can check out here. There are a few things I like about this site:

1. It is so in keeping with the look and feel of the actual place
2. It has their full menu for leisurely perusal all laid out with very nice flash transitions
3. It has been lovingly (I'm assuming) put together from VERY local designers Catch Design, so close they probably look straight into Duke's.

I think there should be more restaurants (especially in Wellington where there is so many choices when it comes to eating out) should do this sort of thing. People rely on the internet more and more these days for making all sorts of decisions, including where to eat out.

Going back to Fidel's just quickly, while this two places cannot be compared side by side - they have very different offerings, Fidels website is quite clunky and when you Google Fidels they are certainly the first site listed, however you are presented with this:"This site may harm your computer"?? Not the best way to get someone to visit your site. 

So, well done Dukes, on a beautiful, user-friendly website, which is also kudos to Catch Design. Keep the coffee coming! Additional kudos for the mention in Vouge Australia, full page pic, awesome.