Patricia Coffee Brewers’ Bowen Holden and Pip Heath on founding one of Melbourne’s most respected coffee bars, their outlook on expansion, and how the art of service can be the key to unlocking longevity.
When, in 2011, seasoned barista Bowen Holden finally took the plunge to open his own venue in Melbourne’s CBD, the café market was already pretty saturated. The specialty scene was gaining momentum, with independent venues popping up across the city and third-wave pioneers cementing themselves as specialty leaders while expanding their reach.
Yet, this didn’t deter Bowen. It wasn’t a strategic business plan or a drive to make a fortune that fuelled him, but rather an innate ambition to open his own coffee shop.
“I was unhealthily obsessed with the idea of doing it. It was a process I’d been talking about for years and it consumed me. If I was watching a film or reading a book, I’d be looking for ways to link it back to my concept,” Bowen tells BeanScene.
“There wasn’t really a right time to do it. There wasn’t much business planning either, I just got to a point where I knew I had the experience and was ready, and then it was happening.”
Carving out a niche
After working at some of Melbourne’s pioneering speciality coffee businesses, Bowen’s vision was to open a coffee bar that would offer something different – and doing so with some of the close friends he’d met during his time in the industry. This included Pip Heath, who was part of Patricia Coffee Brewers from the beginning and formally bought into the business in 2016.
“A core part of our decision-making process was asking the question ‘what would make this a great place to work?’,” Bowen says. “When you have a menu with 50 items, it’s really hard to do your job properly and execute those drinks at a level you’d be happy with.”
This thinking motivated Patricia’s stripped-back menu, which focuses almost exclusively on coffee. It also influenced its setup as a standing coffee bar, a decision inspired by Italy’s espresso bar culture. These factors, paired with its multi-roaster approach, made it a unique addition to Melbourne’s CBD when it opened in late 2011.
“We were definitely one of the first venues in Australia to be multi-roastery. Back then, cafés signed up to one roaster and that was really the only option. We wanted to offer a different experience where the customer could choose from a selection of beans,” says Bowen.
“We also focused on pourover filter, which at the time was often quite expensive in Melbourne. You’d pay about $10 for a 400-millilitre serve. We wanted to bring the quality and nuance of specialty coffee, but at a lower price. So, we changed the serving size and were able to charge less, which meant people were more willing to try it.”
The Patricia team also did something else that seemed pretty revolutionary at the time: ditch traditional items such as latte and flat white for a pared-back menu of white, black, or filter.
“With the menu, we found we knew how to make the milk coffees the most consistently. Of course, if people asked for their coffee a certain way we would do it, but this approach helped our team to keep the quality consistent,” Bowen says.
“A lot of people told us these were all terrible ideas, but they ended up making Patricia what it is.”
The art of hospitality
Fourteen years on, Patricia has become one of Melbourne’s iconic coffee venues. In that time, many cafés – even successful ones – have fallen to the challenges faced by the industry, yet this niche standing bar has stood the test of time.
Pip attributes the business’ longevity to the team they’ve built and their focus on service.
“We are very proud of our coffee, but I think it’s our attention to detail and focus on hospitality that we are most proud of,” he says.
“When a customer comes in, we hope the first thing they notice is our friendly welcome. We hire people who are empathetic and good at making connections – we’re very busy but our service isn’t rushed, so they have the opportunity to give the customer that great experience. Our passion really is service.”
Building a team who share this passion has been critical, according to the duo. They believe consistently supporting their team made hurdles such as COVID-19 easier to overcome.
“Ultimately, the people are the most important part of the business. Without a great team who feel supported, we wouldn’t have been able to build such a strong community that returned to us once the lockdown restrictions had been eased,” says Pip.
“More recently with the cost-of-living crisis, prices have gone up and some places have seen a dip in customers. We’ve tried really hard not to put up our prices by very much and clearly communicate any changes with our customers.
“However, because our team have created this welcoming atmosphere and unique offering, customers come for a certain experience. Although our model has changed and retail now plays a much larger role, we still have a very strong community of customers who come to enjoy coffee with us.”
Gradual growth
The business has grown to include a dedicated roastery that opened in 2024 – although Patricia began roasting with Bureaux Collective in 2016. Bowen still works in the original venue most days, while Pip now spends most of his time at the roastery sourcing and roasting high-grade beans for the coffee bar and growing consumer base of home brewers.
While many of their specialist coffee shop peers have added sister venues over the years to increase their brand presence, expansion hasn’t been a priority for Patricia’s owners.
“I think we care so much about what we’re doing and the people who have supported us that we don’t want to let anyone down,” says Bowen.
“We have concentrated so much on curating the best experience at Patricia, we have to be careful about how we grow. Over the years, Pip and I have been back and forth on the idea of expansion many times, but it’s always seemed like a big risk to what we’ve built. We don’t measure our success on the money we make but instead on having a great team and sticking to our values.
“The roastery is a good example of this. We could have pushed harder to grow our wholesale side, but that’s never really been where our experience is. We’ve focused on a small group of wholesale partners, but our real passion has always been service and creating a great café atmosphere. That already takes so much care and energy, so we’re mindful not to stretch ourselves too thin in other directions.”
However, after 14 years, the duo has decided it’s finally the right time to add a second venue to their family.
“I’ve never been against growth – it’s been about what we can take on as a team. After almost 15 years, I think we’re at the point where we can do it, but it still feels a bit scary,” says Bowen.
“I still have the fear that someone will say ‘I went to the original Patricia and it’s no good anymore’.”
The new café will open in Summer 2025/26 in a bluestone building in the heart of the CBD. The main space will be similar to the original standing bar, while the addition of a dedicated filter bar will offer a second area in which to enjoy Patricia’s coffees.
“A big factor in us introducing a second venue was finding a space that was truly special – it couldn’t just be anywhere,” Bowen says.
“We want it to feel very connected to the original. Although the two venues are two kilometres apart, we want them to feel like one big space.”
Admitting they’re not business minded, Bowen and Pip say they don’t have any further concrete goals for the future beyond the new coffee bar.
“Our goal will always be to be the best place to work and an amazing place to visit. If we can achieve that across two venues, it will be pretty incredible,” says Bowen. “It’s about doing great things and being proud of what we do, while also balancing that with life and raising our families.”
This article appears in the October 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
