How do you build up a community around a café?
For Elyse and the team at Honey Sundays, it starts with shared passion. Bringing a little ocean culture into the heart of Auckland CBD, they’ve created a space that lets you slow down, celebrates seasonal flavours, and makes every visitor feel welcome.
It’s a café built on care — great coffee, thoughtful plates, and a team who genuinely love what they do. Years in the making, Honey Sundays is the result of staying true to a vision, pushing through discomfort, and letting passion guide every decision. From the custom-shaped boards on the walls to the cups on the bar, the details tell the story of a space shaped by community, connection, and pride.
For cafés starting out, it’s a reminder: building community isn’t just about the product, it’s about creating an experience people want to return to — and a team who brings it to life every day.
In conversation with Elise
We had a chance to sit down with Elyse to discuss her journey into small business ownership and how she has managed to build a community around a café.
Tell us about Honey Sundays. How did it all begin?
Honey Sundays came from a mix of things I’ve always loved: coffee, food, surfing, and being around people. I’d been thinking about it for years, and it slowly became this clear vision of the kind of space I wanted to create.
I remember driving around the CBD inner suburbs looking for the right spot. I wanted a space with a strong neighbourhood feel and lots of natural light and character to reflect Honey Sunday’s sunny personality. I actually sat outside this site one day and thought,“This could be it.” About a year later, it came up for lease, and I went all in.
There’s an incredibly warm vibe here. Was that part of the vision?
Yeah, completely. The feeling of the space was always just as important as what we serve. I wanted it to feel sunny and relaxed, like that feeling you get near the ocean.
Not everyone can get to the beach every day, so it was about bringing a little bit of that into a neighbourhood setting. It’s not just about grabbing a coffee, it’s about how people feel when they’re in our space, and how they connect with it and with each other.
“ I want people to leave feeling relaxed and comfortable. Like they’ve had a genuinely good experience and can see themselves coming back, either as part of their routine or just somewhere they return to whenever they need it. ”
— Elise
What does your day-to-day look like?
To be honest, my mornings are pretty full on! I’m usually across a bit of everything: baking scones, checking in with the team, making sure everything’s running smoothly, jumping in where needed. It’s a busy part of the day, but I like being in it and making sure everything’s set up properly from the start.
There are still definitely small moments though: chatting with regulars, watching a good coffee and bowl come together, and the team all in sync and having fun.
Was there ever a moment when you realised you’d created something really special?
It’s usually in the middle of a busy morning. The music’s going, coffee’s flowing, people are catching up, cute pups out the front. The team’s in flow, and there’s this really natural energy in the space, the kind of connection and atmosphere I always hoped it would have.
“ Not every day is going to feel perfect, but if you keep showing up with the same level of care and attention to detail, that’s what people connect with over time. ”
— Elise
Seems like you’ve hit the ground running. Do you ever get a chance to take a moment to appreciate what you’ve achieved?
Definitely not as often as I probably should. When you’re in it day to day, you’re usually thinking about what needs to be done next or how things can be better, so it’s easy to move straight past those moments.
But every now and then I catch myself, which usually happens when I’m with a customer and they’ve been super stoked on our café, and it reminds me of what we’ve built.
It usually takes a team of people to bring these visions to life. Who’s with you behind the scenes?
The team is a huge part of what makes Honey Sundays what it is. They genuinely care about the food, the coffee, our customers; they bring our space to life. A lot of what people experience when they come in is because of them. I’m the sole owner-operator, so I’ve been pretty hands-on with everything from the start, which has been a big learning curve.
Have there been any speed bumps/reality checks along the way?
I think it’s less about big standout moments and more about the ongoing responsibility that comes with running a small business.
I care deeply about every part of what we do: the food, the coffee, the team, the space, and keeping that consistent every day. That means constantly paying attention to the details, even when things are busy or a bit unpredictable.
There’s a lot to hold, but over time, I’m learning to stay steady in it; to keep showing up, and not let the harder days shift the overall feel of what we’re building.
