By Cobey Bartels.
In a world of retail attrition, rent hikes and pinched margins, many industries have found inventive ways to thrive once again. The cafe industry is no exception.
Cafe culture continues to evolve in Australia, with micro hole-in-the-wall espresso stops and a growing trend towards liquor offerings. A select few are even producing their own liquor under the one roof.
Brisbane based coffee roaster Fonzie Abbott was a pioneer of the trend, pursuing liquor licensing early on and eventually building a full-blown microbrewery and distillery within its
expansive café in the north-eastern Brisbane suburb of Albion.
“I wanted to work out how we could be different, and a bunch of our customers at the time had liquor licences,” Fonzie Abbott founder Dan Pappas said.
“Because the Albion area didn’t have a brewery, I thought, let’s do it!”
The idea was born out of Mr Pappas’ own consumer habits, offering customers the jumpstart of a morning coffee and the reward of an alcoholic beverage later in the day.
“If you’re going for a surf or doing something fun during the day, you wake up and have a coffee first,” he said.
“Then, if you’ve had a good time, you have a drink with mates afterwards.”
Operating both a roastery and cafe, Mr Pappas already offered a point of difference at Fonzie Abbot, but he wanted to take things further.
He decided to install a microbrewery and distillery set-up, making the alcohol in-house, which he claims is unique for a cafe.
“I think we’re the only independent cafe in the world that roasts coffee, brews beer and distils spirits,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s anyone else … who does it all under one roof.”
The trend towards offering liquor in cafes is burgeoning, Mr Pappas says, but he insists Fonzie Abbott wasn’t following fads.
“I think if you’re open, you may as well serve beer (or wine) – it’s another income stream,” he said. “We don’t really follow trends, though. We just do things we think people will enjoy.”
Read the article in full in the October issue of Convenience World.
