Four years after buying the iconic Spot Restaurant in Hamilton, the owners have taken over the eatery next door.

Srinivas Nandagopal opened the Coral Café on the ground floor of Thistle House, on Burnaby Street, earlier this month.

“In this building alone they have 60 to 80 people working,” he said. “We would see them every day going out to get a coffee or a sandwich. Now, they do not have to leave the building.”

He admitted the location in the corner of the ground floor of Thistle House is slightly awkward. People often walk by without noticing it.

“We have to get people’s attention,” he said. “We work with what we have.”

Despite this challenge, things have been going well.

“We are also getting customers from the outside,” Mr Nandagopal said.

There is no overlap between The Spot offerings and The Coral Café menu.

The Coral Café offers takeout salads, sandwiches and a variety of baked goods and pastries.

Mr Nandagopal makes the cheese cakes, croissants and breads the night before.

“I do everything myself,” he said. “I am not a baker; I am a chef, but I am very interested in pastries.”

He changes the scone flavours regularly with choices such as matcha, blueberry and spinach and cheddar.

Sandwiches can be had on home-made artisanal breads such as focaccia and sourdough.

There are also a mix of salads.

In accordance with office worker tastes, he offers the sweet stuff in smaller portions.

His mini cake loaves are especially popular. Brown butter, honey ginger cake or lemon and coconut cake are typical choices.

“A lot of office workers like to buy the mini cakes on the way home from work,” he said.

He has been in the food industry for 20 years, having started out in hotels.

Mr Nandagopal said when he first took over the Spot, it was a bit of a challenge, because some customers had been coming to the restaurant for years and had their expectations. Since he worked at the Spot in the past, it was not hard to win the regulars over.

He is not fazed by running two businesses at the same time.

“I am used to it,” he said. “I work from 6.30am until 10pm. I pace myself.”