How we are all used to visiting cafes, bars and restaurants where you can meet friends, talk and have a bite to eat! It’s a pity that you can’t come there all day. After all, then you will need to constantly order food or drinks, otherwise the administration at best will express bewilderment, and at worst - ask you to leave.
What about entertainment? Music, TV shows or Wi-Fi for those who came with their laptop. But! Because of the conversations of the rest of the visitors, one cannot work in silence or simply retire, for example, while reading books. It’s not accepted here, such institutions have different goals. New-fashioned anticafe made it possible to take a fresh look at the organization of leisure in catering establishments.
Modern trends
What is anticafe? This is a completely new format of institutions for cultural recreation and civilized entertainment for Russia. In them, everyone can pleasantly spend an unlimited amount of time for free refreshments, games, work, chatting, watching films and special events such as contests and master classes.
It is not necessary to come with a company; there are many friends of interest here. It is also not accepted to order a comprehensive lunch: in the anticafe there are no waiters, no cooks, or even full-fledged cuisine. But there is coffee, tea, soft drinks, sweets and pastries, and for free. The only taboo is alcohol; you cannot bring it with you. But you can do the rest, which will satisfy a slight hunger.
History of occurrence
What is anticafe? In fact, it is an analogue of time cafes or time clubs. The prefix "anti" speaks for itself: the usual rules do not apply here. The idea of the existence of such establishments belongs to Ivan Mitin, a Russian entrepreneur who opened the territory of the Tree House free space in 2010.
At first, visitors left as much money as they wanted to pay for his visit, receiving in return tea, coffee, cookies and the opportunity to have a good leisure. Later, Mitin proposed per-minute billing services. He implemented this concept in the new “Dial” project - the now fashionable time cafe, which opened in 2011. Since 2012, the term “anticafe” has been common to all such institutions.
Interior and entertainment
What is anticafe? Reviews visitors characterize it as a place of increased comfort: everything inside is at home. One large room or several target rooms with comfortable sofas and pillows, armchairs, tables. You can even take a nap in a hammock. Those who are interested in a detailed setting inside a particular anti-cafe, photo his interior can see in our article find or on the pages of fashion magazines.
The cost of the visit includes the use of game consoles, board games, a cinema hall, a library, Wi-Fi with a laptop on demand. There is also a zone for training or business negotiations with magnetic marker boards for presentations. Naturally, this is not all. Anticafe is so diverse that any visitor will be able to choose a suitable occupation. For example, you can sing karaoke or watch a master class on drawing wine.
Payment system
What is anticafe? This is an institution where only the time spent in it, which is calculated in minutes, is paid. The cost of one does not exceed 3 rubles in the first hour and half of this amount - in all subsequent ones.
With all the variety of organizational nuances, the principle of invoicing remains unchanged. The administrator notes the time of the visitor’s appearance in the anticafe and gives out hours that allow him to track the time of his stay in the “territory of freedom”. Sometimes cards are used instead, counting can be carried out automatically using security cameras. In any case, the bill is paid at the exit, in which the amount for the number of minutes spent in the institution is indicated.
Capital institutions
Of course, the largest number of anticafe is in Moscow. Many of them achieved rating positions, but the five most popular institutions among the townspeople were formally identified. This is “Butterflies” on 5th Monetchikovsky Lane, in the former house of architect Kiselev. Here you can work and sit back, but you can not smoke and drink alcohol.
What is anticafe, you can feel by visiting the famous "Dial" (on Pokrovka) with all kinds of fun and alarm clocks in the spirit of retro, received in your hands to control time. Next Timeterria Lipeople (2nd Shchemilovsky Lane) - everything is provided and included, even author's lemonade, plus lectures on business and Speed Dating for meeting lonely hearts.
Another popular anticafe is Local Time, for 1 ruble per minute. There is a lot of communication and games (Novoryazanskaya St., next to the A. Zverev Center for Contemporary Art ). And, finally, Work shop loft, near the monument to the electric factory (Elektrozavodskaya St.). It provides a woodworking workshop, a ceramic kiln and a potter's wheel for rent . Here you can also learn to draw from life and try a session of hatha yoga.
Antikafe Peter
Today, such free spaces are organized throughout Russia and operate in more than 200 large cities. Very popular anticafe St. Petersburg. What is it and where to find them, you can easily find out from any resident of St. Petersburg. By the way, they operate at almost every station in the St. Petersburg metro.
Since last year, a real wave of new discoveries has swept: genre, family, children's (entrance with parents) and other institutions have joined the anticafe. One of the favorite public is considered to be shopping mall "Now" and antikafe FD (with a hostel) on Nevsky Prospekt. Both institutions are species-oriented; they allow you to observe the daily life of a million-plus city in a relaxed atmosphere.