Sitting in my favourite cafe. Well, I suppose you can call it that. Been coming here for years. It's known in my circles as 'the second office'. Once upon a time it was known as my main office. Held so many meetings here when I was President of the local Chamber of Commerce. Which I was for 6 years.
That of course was when the original owner still owned the joint. Then, it was the best coffee in Hornsby. Brian, the owner, knew how to make the brew and fast and HOT too. None of this waiting for 20 minutes like it seems to be now... or being totally forgotten. Then after reminding them you're not here as decoration, you get a flat white pretending to be a cappuccino, which was most likley only luke warm the 20 minutes ago when they made it and now it's an iced coffee. Why don't you say something to them I hear you cry! I do. But you know the saying "Every day is new, a new dawning, a new begining"... I think you get my drift.
Brian was fantastic. Supported anything and everything in the community. When he opened up Thyme Square Cafe it was in the building right next to the old Westfield, which by the way, was the very first Westfield ever built. One of Hornsby's claim to fame. But in the massive redevelopment of Lowey's first born and believe me that's how Frank viewed it. The stipulations he handed down his sons before he would let then touch it was amazing. Nothing but the best had to go back into the new centre... well half of it anyway. You see this Westfield is in two sections with a walk bridge passing over Hornsby Mall, which is owned by council, just to complicate matters, connecting the two sectiions. The other was once a rival shopping centre: Northgate. Westfield ended buying it years later. So in the redevelopment Frank didn't give a bugger what they did with that section... and it sure shows.
Anyway, Thyme Square was THE most popular eatery around. Open breakfast, lunch, dinner, busy all the time. Four chef's on rotation. Their BLT's were to die for! THEN about 12 years ago. Westfield bought the building to be included in the redevelopment. Brian was promised first option on the position in the new centre. ....
AHRRR... look at this, second coffee has just arrived so full that half of it is now in the saucer! Shake head, stare skyward, calm down and continue...
So, since the whole centre was virtually going to be non exsistant for 2 years except for Coles and a couple of brave speciallity shops that had the centre redeveloped around them. That's just reminded me of the famous or infamous water sculpture or as everone calls it water clock. Everyone that is except the artist. It had to be moved around the Mall during all this. It's a great story, which I will keep for another ramble. Back to Brian...
Brian as I said was incredibly community minded. So he didn't want to leave the area without at least somewhere to get a morning coffee and sambos. So unlike all the others who bided their time for 2 years. Brian leased a small shop a couple of doors down and opened Thyme Square more as a simple take away to get everyone through. BTW Brian's nickname was 'havachat' one of the other assets to the business. People just loved getting their morning coffee and chat and he certainly didn't let them down.
Unfortunately all this community spirit, and believe me that's what it was, ended up biting him in the bum... in a big way. No, let me rephrase that... he got a huge kick in the guts. The whole town centre looked like a demolition site... No... it was a demolition site! 80% of the old centre had gone. Shipped in a convoy of very large trucks to a landfill site somewhere. most probably owned by Westfield and is now a new centre. The temporary Thyme Square was so hidden by all the construction barriers everyone except the faithful had thought Thyme Square had abandoned them like all the others. The vultures also swoomed in from the surrounding shopping centres: Castle Hill, Macquarie and St Ives. Huge ads in the locals luring the 'Centreless' Hornsby residents to their place. St Ives even went as far as running a free shuttle bus service all day seven days a week! But Brian stuck it out for the 18 months it took. BUT by then he had found it neccessary to sell his house to survive.
What kept him going was he always knew that he had the option on his old space, the prime location in a new centre. Yeah right!.. Yes, Westfield did give him the first option. An option with a rental that was so outrageous coupled with all the Westfield rules and restrictions and of course their percentages for this and that. Don't know if you have ever seen a Westfield contract. It makes the Koran look like a pamphlet. Brian now was in no position to take this lease and always said that even if he was, there was no way he'd become a Westfield statistic. And believe me there has been lots of those over the past ten years. About three years ago Westfield did a massive rent hike. Three months later the place was filled with boarded up shops all with a huge signs "Exciting new store opening soon" yeah, like about 2 years before they were back to capacity.
So Brian bit the bullet and decided to keep going in the present location. Westfield did lease that prime eatery position. It's still trading today. It's THE place to be seen in Hornsby and that's about all it has going for it. The ego factor. Otherwise it's overpriced, slow and I mean slow service. Must tell you the story about the last and I mean the LAST time I dined there in a future ramble. Food very over rated only because of the ego factor. AND have never and I mean EVER contributed anything back to the community.. Take yes.. give back.. No.
Brian decides to give them a run for their money. He turns Thyme Square back into an eatery. The regulars start to return. They returned with delight that he 'came back to Hornsby' that comment always got up his nose... He never left folks! He had great plans. Plans that he can only see as a reality by the cashed up new owners.
Yep, that's right. Brian ended up having to pull the plug about three years ago and sell. His dream of expanding next door, enclosing the outside dining area, getting a liquor licence, opening up again at night. He can now only just look at. I must admit. They have done a great job and the place is now gaining a good reputation and filled most of the time.... if only they could just make a proper cappuccino!
