Pránáh: A Legend of Newtownian Cafe Culture

Aaron Thornton and Tomoko Hasegawa are fairly legendary around Newtown for kickstarting the wave of modern cafes here, and doing so with a love of healthy, organic, vegetarian foods, not to mention espresso. This all happened around 6 years ago and they’ve been carving up a reputation, Newtown, Wellington, and New Zealand-wide ever since.

My first impression of the cafe (around 5 years ago now) was the wheatgrass lawn in the window, and a friendly Japanese woman behind the espresso machine. The colourful menu overhead was studded with icons indicating gluten free, and vegan options. Curious art adorned the walls, which I later learnt rotated as a local artist exhibition space.

The mix of high-quality espresso, welcoming décor, friendly local baristas, and incredibly delicious food has a special place in my heart. Once I left a shy note with my empty plate detailing my dining experience as transcendent gateway as well as hearty nutritional times, and came back next week to find my note on their notice board.

A few months ago Pránáh went through a transition as they handed the business over to new owner Jade, and manager Twee, who are doing a great job continuing the high standards of inspiring food and attention-to-detail espresso.

Part of this article is to say farewell to Aaron and Tomoko, who are taking a break before they embark on their next adventure. They’ve been fantastic to work with, supported us in business and at events, and have done great things for fair trade coffee, leading by example. Rock on you two!