How a Durham café became the city’s latest unofficial college bar

Durham is certainly no stranger to tradition, but its newest student bar is set to challenge expectations in both setting, style and music. Launching within one of the city’s cafés, Capriccio is turning the idea of a pre-drinks venue on its head.

Redefining pre-drinks culture

Soundhaus, a student-led events group, shared its plans to branch into residencies beyond the spaces usually linked with nightlife. Capriccio’s became the product of this vision, transforming a familiar café setting into an unexpected social hub and dance floor for Durham students.

Café Capriccio, situated on the Bailey and known for its “modern, attractive and delicious Italian food”, is soon to double as the city’s newest pre-drinks spot.

The small yet central location offers what Nik described in a previous Tab interview as a “higher degree of customisation”. At the same time, its capacity is limited compared with larger venues, but it allows for a more curated atmosphere that lends itself to a “boiler room” feel.

Capriccio Fridays are set to transform pres into something entirely new

We interviewed second-year students, Nik, the founder of Soundhaus, and Ollie, the founder of the Ellipsis Project, to discuss their motivations.

This new and upcoming residency was founded by two notable Durham names, Soundhaus and the Ellipsis project. Nik and Ollie spoke to The Durham Tab about their motivations in joining forces to create something never seen before.

Soundhaus sees this as a “project” rather than a regular, ticketed event, bringing together two names in hope of establishing something unique. They aim to use transferrable skills across both areas, being Soundhaus’ music, and the Ellipsis Project’s skills as a clothing brand.

Their launch event is scheduled for this Friday, 20th February, with not only free entry, but endless cheap drinks including £4 triples, and 15 Jager bombs for £9.

Events are set to occur on a routine basis, every Friday, starting at 8:30 pm and ending at around 12:30 am, with the idea that you ‘pre’ here, and go to the club after. Capriccio’s conveniently close location to Elvet Bridge boasts the unique advantage of its proximity to Durham’s most renowned clubs, Jimmies and Klute.

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A café by day, social hub at night

Rather than occupying a typical university college bar setting, Capriccio operates out of a relaxed, flexible space, offering an atmosphere similar to that of a house party.

Pre-drinking at Durham as long revolved around crowded college bars and cheap pints, but Capriccio offers something different. They aim to bring Capriccio into the centre of Durham nightlife, emphasising Soundhaus’ support of small businesses in Durham.

Their biggest motivation is to grow Capriccio’s name beyond that of a daytime café spot, into something much bigger, broadening its demographic within the city’s student population.

They indeed found a “gap in the market”, aiming to capitalise on this in transforming the location into the “next hotspot for pres”.

Quality over quantity – Events guarantee a ‘club level’ sound system

Soundhaus continues to develop its sound system, prioritising the quality of the music and a broad range of genres beyond the size of events. Indeed, they promise new DJs every week, meaning new tracks each time!

Music is set to range from EDM, dance, house, UK Garage, aiming to break away from the often “generic” tracks heard in clubs. Therefore, Soundhaus continues to search for new faces, bringing “underlying talent to the big stage”, showcasing talents which have not yet scratched the surface.

What’s not to love? It’s clear this event will shake up the conventional college bar scene and turn pres into something unmissably fun.