New Saint John Cafe And Bar Will Help You Channel Your Inner Artist
SAINT JOHN– A new cafe and bar opening in uptown Saint John this fall will provide a place for people to bring out their inner artist.
The Art Warehouse, which will be located at 120 Prince William Street, will be a bar, cafe and drop-in art studio where people can paint whatever they wish, with their friends, date, family or on their own.
Owner Hazel Cochran got the business idea a year ago while visiting Central America with her family.
“We went to this little cafe and it was like any other cafe … but they also offered this unique art menu when you and pick what you wanted to work on and do that,” she says.
“I had a little baby, and he stayed with his dad and I went there for an hour and I did a little water colour and drank a beer and I just fell in love with it. I thought ‘I wish we had this in Canada.”
Turns out we do have it in Canada, but in bigger centres like Toronto. There wasn’t anything like it in Saint John.
“I’m combining that unique, fun cafe/bar with this artistic element where you can drop in and create things,” says Cochran.
The Art Warehouse will be open to anyone to have a drink whether they want to paint or not. Those who wish to will be able to pick from different sizes of paper or canvas. Pricing will be based on the size of the canvas you’re using.
“The basis of the model is a drop-in art studio. You can come in when you want,” says Cochran. “There are easels and paint supplies available. There are your canvas and paper and you just work away.”
You won’t need to paint like Picasso to paint at the Art Warehouse or have any skill at all. Cochran says she wants the business to be a place for everyone, even those just looking for something different to do.
“It’s something different to do for a date night instead of just dinner and drinks. I also want it to be inviting for children as well. We’ll offer brown sheets of paper they could doodle on,” she says. “I also want to cater to an uptown family, because this is our community. This is my community and it’s my partner’s community and my son’s community. We’ve worked uptown and we lived uptown. You have that connection with your community and I want to bring my passion for art and creating to this community.”
Renovations at 120 Prince William are underway. The Art Warehouse will have exposed brick walls, which will be decorated with work from local artists. The cafe/bar portion of the business will be at the front of the space, while the art studio portion will be placed near the back. An exact opening date isn’t set yet, but Cochran says it will be this fall.
Ultimately she hopes the Art Warehouse provide a place in Saint John where art is accessible and where people can show their passion for it, regardless of skill level.
“You don’t necessarily have to be an artist or have come in here and paint, but to just be surrounded by it,” says Cochran.
“We have bars and galleries and we have other cafes, but we don’t have space where you can publicly share your creation. We often come to coffee shops to work, I want the artists to be able to do that too. To be able to come to public space and work.”