Toleman opened his first business, Apte, in 2006, serving dishes such as ricotta hotcakes and banana bread with stewed rhubarb and labneh. Though heavily inspired by Ray’s and A Minor Place, Apte stood out in a market where most cafes still behaved like sandwich bars. Kitchens were cramped or non-existent, and espresso machines tended to be cheap makes rather than La Marzocco, the Italian stallion so deservedly ubiquitous today. Our expectations were also lower. Toleman and his team built Apte for $50,000, without an architect or designer. The modest sum was enough to cover everything: tables, chairs, kitchen equipment and a basic fit-out. The risk was relatively small. “It was a chance for people to express themselves without having to spend a lot of money, and create something that had value,” he says. “That was the really exciting time. You’ve got a lot to lose these days. It costs so much more to open a venue, and you’ve got so much more competition.”