Tenda Semanggi cafe hangout attracts patrons

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Plenty of street cafes can now be found in the city. A new one called Kampung Tenda Semanggi has been added to the crowd, and is luring nightgoers by offering a different atmosphere.

Apart from providing a variety of both local and international food, the new cafe offers a chance to shop for antiques and handicrafts as well as hosting a variety of cultural performances.

Strategically located in the central business district and close to the Jakarta Stock Exchange building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, the cafes have become a new attraction for Jakartans. They can take a nice walk along the street -- browsing the menus placed in front of the cafes -- or stop at the shops displaying the local handicrafts and antiques.

"I always come here after work while I'm waiting for the traffic to ease a bit," said Andi, a bank employee, who was enjoying his coffee at the Amrits cafe. He is living in the Bintaro area in South Jakarta.

He said that he usually moved from one cafe to another to avoid crowds. But now he preferred to stay at the Kampung Tenda Semanggi as it was close to his office and the food and beverages were affordable for him.

Besides, he added, the entertainment provided by the management was quite good.

A cup of coffee at the street cafes costs about Rp 4,000 while a variety of toast is offered at around Rp 5,000.

Most of the cafes are attractively designed and heavily adorned with decorative ethnic handicrafts.

Some cafes even have the sky as their roof, providing a relaxing atmosphere for guests, while some others provide a direct view to the main stage.

And the cafes' management -- the Mitra Jakarta Foundation and the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Real Estate Developers Association -- have listed some reputable entertainers to satisfy nightgoers and to fulfill its commitment to make the cafes a haven of retreat for all.

For starters, it's organized the Semanggi Art Appreciation Week running from April 27 until May 2.

Poetry reading featuring Chaerul Umam, Deddy Mizwar, Taufik Ismail and Yose Rizal Manua was featured on stage Tuesday, while on Wednesday, Didi Petet and his troupe entertained people with a theatrical pantomime show.

On Friday, artist Arahmaiani is scheduled to present her art piece, Manusia Koran (Papermen), highlighting information pollution disseminated by the media.

A highly reputable artist, Nyoman Nuarta, will also take part by presenting Balinese art and cultural performances on May 2.

For jazz lovers, Ireng Maulana, the Elfas Big Band & Elfas Singer, Idang Rasyidi, as well as a host of others will play from May 3 to May 7.

Entertainment is not the only thing offered by the cafes. Some of the handicraft spots, like the Manik-Manik shop owned by actor El-Manik, offers good quality handicraft pieces for sale.

"Many people, who earlier came simply to look around before their dinners, came back later and did some serious buying," the shop attendant said.

According to him, most of the handicrafts are made of teak wood by Central Java craftsmen.

The head of the cafe's management, Eppie P. Soeriwidjaja, said that the Kampung Tenda Semanggi wanted to create a certain image that differs from other street cafes.

"We want to establish our cafe's image as the center for street cafes, happening art, cultural performances and bazaars," Eppie said during the official inauguration of the cafe.

The cafe, built on a plot owned by PT Danayasa Arthatama, developer of the Sudirman Center of the Business District, first began operating in December, but was officially inaugurated on Sunday by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

At present, the 4,000-meter plot has been rented by about 119 cafe owners, including celebrities Donna Harun and Andre Hehanusa. There are also around 16 handicraft shops, 34 kiosks offering agriculture and fishery products and 28 kiosks of various sidewalk vendors.

The cafes have also provide jobs for around 1,500 people, including those who have lost their jobs because of the economic crisis.

Sutiyoso said the administration welcomed efforts to provide new jobs and hope for the city's 900,000 unemployed people.

He expressed his pride over Jakartans' struggle to create new jobs. He added, however, that he had seen many cafes that had not done as well as expected.

"I hope these cafes will not end up as some others have ... or, I'll never inaugurate them again," threatened Sutiyoso.

Kampung Tenda Semanggi is the fourth street cafe area he has officiated. The others are located in Kuningan, South Jakarta, in the National Monument (Monas) area in Central Jakarta and in Pulomas in East Jakarta.

Running a cafe or a shop there, however, is not as cheap as many people might assume.

Roanna, a 55-year-old housewife, has run the two-story Rame- Rame cafe with five of her friends since last month. For the cafe, which offers food from Palembang, South Sumatra, they spent Rp 35 million for, among others, the first three-month rent fee and deposit. After three months, they will pay around Rp 1.2 million as a monthly rental fee.

"But for a housewife like me, who loves cooking, it's fun to run a cafe. What else can I do? All my children have grown up already," said the mother of four.

Besides, she added, there were lots of visitors rushing in to eat food from her cafe.

"We have plenty of visitors on Saturdays and Sundays," said Roanna, whose cafe opens from 6 p.m. to 12 p.m. but is closed on Mondays. The cafe owners take turns to serve the customers.

During the weekend, the cafe serves over 30 guests a day, while on slow days it still serves up to 20.