Pearl & Ash café is a convenient meeting spot that Café Manager Hannah Kilduff appreciated even before joining the business.
“Being a local, I used to come down here all the time,” Hannah says. “It’s where I got my groceries, and I used to love the florist that was nearby. There’s a lot here because we’re a part of a centre.”
Pearl & Ash is located within Southport’s Brickworks Center along Queensland’s Gold Coast. It welcomes regulars and newcomers alike to enjoy its coffee offerings, and fresh produce and products sourced from the centre’s nearby market.
“It’s the luxury we have in comparison to a lot of other different cafés,” Hannah says. “That’s how we’ve made our name for ourselves and have a lot of regular customers.”
The café partners with Melbourne-based coffee roaster Locale Coffee and uses its Ultimate Wingman espresso blend.
“’It’s a universal espresso blend. It’s very sweet, not bitter,” Hannah says. “We started off with that and we found that it worked really well, so we haven’t had a reason to change it.”
To keep up with high demand during busy periods, the café uses a 2-group and 3-group La Marzocco coffee machine, one of which is solely used for takeaway orders.
“We were lucky to have Locale as our coffee brand from the beginning. Since then, we’ve created such an amazing relationship with the Locale team. Our customers love the coffee, and some can’t go a day without it. We look forward to expanding our range with them,” says Hannah.
The menu undergoes seasonal changes with fixed favourites such as the chilli scrambled eggs. Cabinet items such as pastries and sandwiches are all made in-house or stocked within the company.
Pearl & Ash underwent renovations from mid-September to late October 2022, making changes to aesthetic appeal. It now boasts indoor and outdoor seating areas with the capacity to host large volumes of customers, and offers function bookings for events.
“We’ve given it a really big spruce up when it comes to the design aspects and made it look a lot more cohesive,” Hannah says. “At the end of the day, our top priority is to give people the best service possible. We want customers to come in smiling, and we want them to leave smiling.”
Pearl & Ash Café Wine Bar
Shop 11/107 Ferry Road, Southport, Queensland, 4215
Open Monday to Sunday 7:00am – 4:00pm
This article appears in the December 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
