When we first opened, more than seven years ago, we were constantly asked this question and I never seemed to be able to provide a short answer!  So here’s the long, indulgent version of why we picked this name …

Many moons ago, David and I met at Durham University where I was studying Natural Sciences and he was studying (you’ve guessed it!) Geography.  Fast forward ten years, we were living in London, just married and planning a trip of a lifetime backpacking around the world for 12 months. It was during this trip that we spent time discussing how we could work together and if we did, what sort of business we would run.  A few months into the trip, we found ourselves in the beautiful heritage town of Malacca in Malaysia where we stumbled upon the Geographer Cafe.  Being a geographer, and having spent his entire career in the travel industry, David was excited (other geographers would understand!).  We had an amazing meal and left with our souvenir t-shirt.

Fast forward again another eight years and we were living in Histon with our small children.  The realities of life with a young family meant that we were both working in steady jobs in marketing and fundraising, but still dreamt of our plan to one day run our own business.  But in 2007, beginning to tire of corporate life, we realised that there was no time like the present and we found a small deli to run in Cambridge.  During this time we constantly thought how great it would be to set up in Histon & Impington, a community that we already felt a part of, so were keeping our eyes peeled for a suitable venue.

When we found it, 103 Station Road was a former travel agents and was literally stuffed full of maps and travel brochures.  We knew we wanted a different and unusual name for our new business - something that was memorable, but also had relevance to what we wanted to do and sell.  So it only seemed fitting that we should choose The Geographer.

As we renovated, and prepared to open up, geography became more of a theme.  We decorated tables and the counter with the maps that we found there.  There are a few personalisations - a tiny map of the place we got engaged sits in the middle of one of the tables!  We also planned to import some food from Spain and France, as we had done in our previous deli, and serve Italian food and South American coffee.  The geography theme also extended to our range of gifts - we sourced products decorated with maps, from coffee cups to umbrellas, picture frames to posters.

It’s been interesting watching peoples reactions to the name.  Geographers (they are an enthusiastic bunch) absolutely love it - we’ve had teachers and lecturers visit from far and wide to eat, photograph and shop.  Surprisingly, some young children don’t know what it is (it’s part of ‘humanities’ at primary school until the subjects are split up) so then it’s an opportunity for their parents to explain.  Some people think they don’t like geography, or hated it at school, and then sit and enthusiastically point out places on a map table.  So if you love travel, then you love geography - wherever you go, you are soaking up another culture and learning about another landscape.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I was a fan of geography until I realised really what it is.  It’s us, humanity, and it’s where we live, our world.  It’s as simple as that!

The Geographer takes on a new meaning as we look to the future.  At a time when we are all thinking about our planet and how to protect it, our focus switches to how as a business we can support our customers in reducing our harmful impact on the environment; whether it’s shopping plastic free, reducing our consumption of meat or switching to compostable or reusable coffee cups.

So far, we’ve met two customers who’ve been to the cafe in Malacca, and for one Histonite, Malacca is their home town!  We’d love to know if you’ve been, or if not, where is your favourite cafe in the world?

noun: geography

1. the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources and political and economic activities.