• About
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • MICE
Friday, June 13, 2025
Newsletter
SUBSCRIBE
  • Coffee News
  • Features
    • Industry issues
    • Interviews
    • Knowledge leader
  • Coffee community
    • Competitions
    • Events
    • Get to know
    • People
    • Sustainability
  • Industry insights
    • Café insights
    • Green bean
    • Manufacturers
    • Milk and alt milks
    • Roasters
  • Skills & education
    • Business advice
    • How to
    • Latte art
    • Recipes
    • Research
    • Tutorials
  • Equipment & tech
    • Automation
    • Coffee machines
    • Grinders
    • Milk steaming
    • Roasting technology
    • Technology
  • Café scene
    • Australian Capital Territory
    • New South Wales
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • South Australia
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria
    • Western Australia
    • New Zealand
No Results
View All Results
  • Coffee News
  • Features
    • Industry issues
    • Interviews
    • Knowledge leader
  • Coffee community
    • Competitions
    • Events
    • Get to know
    • People
    • Sustainability
  • Industry insights
    • Café insights
    • Green bean
    • Manufacturers
    • Milk and alt milks
    • Roasters
  • Skills & education
    • Business advice
    • How to
    • Latte art
    • Recipes
    • Research
    • Tutorials
  • Equipment & tech
    • Automation
    • Coffee machines
    • Grinders
    • Milk steaming
    • Roasting technology
    • Technology
  • Café scene
    • Australian Capital Territory
    • New South Wales
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • South Australia
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria
    • Western Australia
    • New Zealand
No Results
View All Results
Home

Omar And The Marvelous Coffee Bird

by Staff Writer
December 17, 2012
in Cafe Scene, Victoria
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Andy Gelman is a strong believer in the saying: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

The day before Andy and business partner Dean Atkin’s Café and roastery was to open, the local council decided to pull up the main road outside their new location to fix the water drain. With restricted road access around the café for the first four months of business, andy and Dean remained optimistic and opened as planned.

“It was really shattering and a really tough time,” andy says. “We tried to maintain positive, at least we had really cool coffees and I got to spend time using the roaster.”

Omar and the Marvellous Coffee Bird has since celebrated its one-year birthday and it’s thriving in the suburb of Gardenvale. With a warm, industrial feel to the corner site, andy says his café had to offer a family friendly environment because of the suburban location.

“We’re really feeling the local loyalty,” he says. “Here, you get to know your customers by name, which is just the most awesome feeling.”

Andy roasts out of café hours on a brand new 12kg Probat roasting machine, which he describes as the best thing he’s ever roasted on.

Andy and Dean have sampled hundreds of coffees from around the world to get the right blends for the café. Their comprehensive list of coffees on offer are all unique and seasonal blends, including their special milk-based blend of Sumatran Aceh Mengaya and Guatemalan Finca La Providencia, and a Sumatran Aceh Mengaya for their black coffee that is full bodied with a rich and earthy sweetness.

Other single origin coffee from Sumatra, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Kenya and Panama are also available, including the Kenya Gethumbwini, a real standout served through the clever coffee dripper on site.Omar’s uses a La Marzocco machine and a clever coffee dripper.

The mentality behind the food at the café is simple: great produce served fresh. A variety of toasted flatbreads, salads and rolls are available for lunch, as well as a breakfast special of torn basil, tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil.

When buying beans to take home, the staff at Omar offer friendly advice on how to best use their coffee and what they can expect to get out of the coffee. no matter the difference in pallet, Andy says the team at Omar’s can find a bean that will be suited to any particular taste.

“When you sit down and spend time with a customer, trying different processing methods of coffee, they’re your customer for life,” andy says.

“I love my job, we feel so lucky we can come into work, try all these different coffees and somehow make ends meet.”

Related Posts

The success of the 1995 Darwin café is the culmination of Owner Reed Alanes’ experience in the Filipino and Aussie hospitality industries.

The 1995

by Daniel Woods
June 10, 2025

Which part of the café experience comes above all else? Is it the quality of the coffee, the chance to...

Image: Jackson and McRoss

Jackman and McRoss

by Staff Writer
May 13, 2025

Over the course of its 26 years, Jackman and McRoss has become synonymous with high-quality handmade pies and pastries in...

Image: Pickle in the Middle

Pickle in the Middle

by Staff Writer
May 5, 2025

True to its name, Pickle in the Middle is a celebration of all things pickled. Luke Halloran, who owns the...

Please login to join discussion

Join our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

BeanScene Magazine is committed to promoting, enhancing and growing the coffee industry in Australia as it’s coffee news has captured the attention of coffee roasters, bean and machine importers, café owners, café chain owners and executives, and many of the auxiliary products and services that support the coffee industry in Australia and around the globe.

Subscribe to our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

About Beanscene

  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Latest magazine
  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy collection notice
  • Privacy policy

Popular Topics

  • Coffee news
  • Features
  • Coffee community
  • Industry insights
  • Skills & education
  • Equipment & tech
  • Cafe Scene

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
  • Coffee News
  • Features
    • Industry issues
    • Interviews
    • Knowledge leader
  • Coffee community
    • Competitions
    • Events
    • Get to know
    • People
    • Sustainability
  • Industry insights
    • Café insights
    • Green bean
    • Manufacturers
    • Milk and alt milks
    • Roasters
  • Skills & education
    • Business advice
    • How to
    • Latte art
    • Recipes
    • Research
    • Tutorials
  • Equipment & tech
    • Automation
    • Coffee machines
    • Grinders
    • Milk steaming
    • Roasting technology
    • Technology
  • Café scene
    • Australian Capital Territory
    • New South Wales
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • South Australia
    • Tasmania
    • Victoria
    • Western Australia
    • New Zealand

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited