{"id":18643,"date":"2013-11-14T13:32:25","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T13:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=18643"},"modified":"2013-11-14T13:32:25","modified_gmt":"2013-11-14T13:32:25","slug":"cardiff-character-natalie-eddins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2013\/11\/14\/cardiff-character-natalie-eddins\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff character: Natalie Eddins"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Natalie

It\u2019s three o\u2019clock on a drizzly Friday afternoon, and the lunchtime rush has mostly subsided at Th\u00e9 Pot on Crwys Road.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt seems like the worse the weather is, the busier we get!\u201d gushes Natalie Eddins, still buzzing from the lively shift she\u2019s had.<\/p>\n

No surprise there: her caf\u00e9 is a perfect hideaway for such blustery autumn days, welcoming in Cardiff\u2019s brolly bearers with the hospitality of an old friend and the promise of good coffee. A few customers are still scattered around the room, warming their hands on steaming mugs. They seem reluctant to leave.<\/p>\n

Apron still fastened, Natalie allows herself a latte break. She scoots a seat from beneath a polka dot tablecloth, removing a pair of vintage specs and readjusting her brown ponytail.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know how people do this full time and have kids,\u201d admits the 33 year old, who opened the caf\u00e9 in 2008. \u201cThis is enjoyable for me. I wouldn’t want it to feel like it was a chore. It probably would if I were doing it to provide for someone.\u00a0\"Natalie

\u201cIt’s what’s called a lifestyle business,\u201d she says decisively. \u201cYou work as hard as you have to work to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lifestyle business\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n

Indeed, most of Natalie\u2019s life seems to revolve around her caf\u00e9. The other staff who work here are described as family. Her customers are genuine friends. Even her four year relationship with Welsh techno artist Haydon Hughes (also known as Y Pencadlys<\/a>) can be traced back to days spent working at Th\u00e9 Pot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI cooked him San Francisco breakfasts over a period of about three months before he finally had the courage to ask me on a date,\u201d she grins.<\/p>\n

Natalie grew up in Dinas Powys, and used to work in the same building that Th\u00e9 Pot now resides in. Back then it was known as Marty\u2019z Kitchen, a popular foodie hangout owned by Ukranian chef Dasha Malakhova, who fostered Natalie\u2019s passion for cooking fresh, wholesome food.<\/p>\n

“The caf\u00e9 looked very different to what it is now, but the vibe was the same,\u201d says Natalie, glancing towards the small, open plan kitchen that\u2019s now all hers. \u201cThe emphasis was always on homemade.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heart of a community\u201d<\/h2>\n

Th\u00e9 Pot is most famous for its Californian breakfasts, inspired by the two years that Natalie spent working as a language translator in San Francisco. She also decided that her establishment should embody the sociable atmosphere of a street corner caf\u00e9 in Paris, which she experienced whilst living in the French capital during a gap year.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven in the centre of Paris, you don’t see many chain establishments,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt has this really villagey, communal feel to it. It was from then, really, that I thought I\u2019d like to open somewhere that feels like the heart of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six years on, and Th\u00e9 Pot is just that. Natalie\u2019s only regret is that there aren\u2019t more independent eateries for people in Cardiff to enjoy; she wholeheartedly encourages anyone who dreams of doing something similar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a really amazing idea and a business plan, grab it with both hands and do it. If everyone was too scared to, we wouldn’t have places like this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crwys Road\u2019s cosiest coffee shop owner enjoys the daily grind<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":18744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[454,1436,275,1265,3260,2039],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-18643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-breakfast","tag-cafe","tag-coffee","tag-crwys-road","tag-independent-business","tag-the-pot-cafe"],"yoast_head":"\nCardiff character: Natalie Eddins - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2013\/11\/14\/cardiff-character-natalie-eddins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardiff character: Natalie Eddins - 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