Open Heart Surgeon

When surgeon, lecturer and author Sharad Paul first approached Auckland's prestigious Rialto Centre to rent space for a café-bookshop, the managers were far from convinced. Renting to someone with no retail or catering experience seemed unduly risky. But after a year of persistence and persuasion, Paul's vision finally won them over, and the result is Baci Lounge (a name derived from "books, art, coffee inc."), www.baci.co.nz . The fashionably designed space is now a hub for Auckland's literati — a place to shop for unusual reading and to enjoy good wine, food and coffee (the latter given free...