Against the norms
He created that monster about 24 years ago. After running an IT company for ten years, he was tired of that world. During a day of surfing, looking out at the Timbuktu beach bar, he and his former companion fantasize about starting their own business. Two years later, Aloha is there. “We wanted something small. When it was there, we thought: wow, it’s actually quite big.”
With a coffee machine on the bar, refrigerators visible in the back and a beer tap coming out of the wall, Aloha goes against catering standards from the start. “At Heineken they thought: what are those guys doing? But I don’t want to clean a column. And I think coffee is special – that’s a must.”
Also just a farmer’s cock
Aloha grew purely on feeling and straight from the heart. John and his former partner wanted a place where they especially enjoyed visiting. “Otherwise you’re not authentic. I thought: I’m just an idiot. Then there are probably others who like that too.”
