Art Maid Cafe Schatzkiste to Close Down

26.09.2008 by Klopz via AKIBA Today

"Schatzkiste" means treasure chest in german and is also the name of a very original establishment in Akihabara. The title Art-Maid-Cafe might be a little misleading as this is not just a differently themed maid cafe but rather a place that is described by fans as an enclosed dream world with fictional characters that have their own artificial history. So instead of creating a simple reenactment of a story they rather live it. This is emphasized by the fact that the 9 people chosen as maids did not take a place as an exchangeable part of staff but rather as irreplaceable characters part of another world. This means that the maids you can meet in the cafe won't change - except for the random rotation - nor retire, leaving the story and atmosphere intact.

Despite the hidden location in a tiny attic above a doujinshi shop in the midst of akiba's back street area the place has managed to grow a very solid fan base and the only reason you don't see people lining up throughout the steep stairway would be simply because hardly anybody even knows the place exists. Maybe this is for the better though, after all the cozy atmosphere inside the tiny attic could only suffer by being overrun with maid hungry customers looking out to get hearts drawn onto their cappuccino.

There is a lot of mystery involved when digging into the matter, starting from the owner whose identity is unknown but who is said to often be hidden amongst the group of customers, drinking his hot or iced tea like everyone else, up to the various items appearing or disappearing around the tables. One thing definite though is the announced "end of chapter 1" and therefore the closure of the place on March 15th next year. This was planned from the start and does not mean the end of Schatzkiste but rather it's evolution. Until then the production of a new original comic and 4-panel stories is said to take place as well as the preparation for "Chapter 2" of Schatzkiste which might include the casting of new staff.

Schatzkiste is open from 12:00 to 22:00 everyday except Tuesdays.

Schatzkiste

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