A cafe empire is spreading across Hamilton.

In three short years, Holger Eiselt has gone from owning one cafe in the Washington Mall to having three outlets in prime locations around the city.

The latest is 'Buzz 2' inside the Hamilton Pharmacy on Parliament Street, offering buffet food and juice bar as well as the popular staples of coffee and snacks.

Buzz 2 opened in January and has replaced and expanded on the former Coffee Pot concession that once filled a corner of the pharmacy.

The first Buzz cafe opened for business last September at Washington Mall, replacing the former Caffe Latte outlet.

At the hub of the mini-empire is H20, which occupies a corner in the upper floor inside Washington Mall and offers a spacious sit down eating experience. It is also an internet hotspot for those who want to surf the web on their laptop while enjoying a coffee.

Previously the H20 premises was the Take 5 cafe until it was put up for sale in 2004, at which point former Elbow Beach and Newstead chef Mr. Eiselt took it over and realised his ambition of running his own eatery. The speed with which it has grown from a single operation to three, he feels, reflects customer demand for a style of cafe that offers exactly what they want in today's busy, city environment.

"We have a big selection of food, there is fast service and the food is of high quality," he said.

During the past year the flagship H20 cafe has expanded in size. Customers can fill up their own plate or take-away food container at the self service buffet line, have their food weighted (to work out the price) and then eat in or take their lunch away to enjoy.

The spacious seating area also includes a bathroom, an important addition that has done away with the need for customers to trek down to the basement. Having a bathroom on the premises was also a pre-requisite of gaining a licence to sell alcoholic beverages to diners.

All three of the cafes feature a common red colour theme and have custom-made serving counters.

Catering for the needs of busy city workers, who want to grab a bite to eat for breakfast or lunch, is a key component to the success story.

"Buzz 1 and Buzz 2 have salad bars for people to choose from. That is something I always wanted to include. We are also adding a grill at Buzz 1," said Mr. Eiselt.

Between them the cafes offer a healthy selection of juices, including wheat grass drinks, fresh fruit smoothies as well as milk shakes and protein shakes. Quality coffee, cappuccino and espresso are served at all three venues, and the menus also feature take-away wraps.

In the future Buzz 1 will also feature a grill. The large buffet menu at H20 changes daily.

Constant evolution appears to be the natural state for the H20/Buzz cafe chain and Mr. Eiselt has not ruled out further expansion should the demand — and opportunity — present itself.