With the coffee industry constantly trying to bring something new to market, Veneziano Coffee Roasters has its sights on delivering customers an end-to-end specialty coffee experience.
Its new flagship café, Veneziano Coffee Richmond, is an 80-seat dining space placed in the heart of its River Street roastery, training studio and headquarters.
Since opening the café in August 2018, Veneziano has forged a name for itself as the Apple store of the coffee world, with an experience akin to that of the tech giant and a desire to educate and inspire.
Veneziano Managing Director Craig Dickson says the café was the final piece of the puzzle in the business’s desire to share its knowledge with both its wholesale customers and the local coffee community.
“The culture of Veneziano has always been one the relentless pursuit of excellence and of openness and transparency with our customers, wholesale partners, and the industry alike,” Craig says.
“We’ve always loved showing people through our roastery and are proud of the beans we source and relationships we’ve developed at origin. With more space on our hands, it made sense to open a flagship café so everyone could experience first-hand what we are all about. It’s also a space our people can experiment with new coffee, develop their skills, and share their love of coffee with family, friends, and customers.”
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Customers at the café are able to interact with many of the touch points of the specialty coffee industry, from seeing shipments of coffee-filled hessian bags arriving to the green beans going into the roaster. Then, they can observe Veneziano’s team checking that each roasted batch meets it stringent quality standards in the cupping lab. The café also showcases a micro-roastery that encourages customers to pull up a seat and chat all things coffee with its resident roasters.
Not only can customers pick up one of the many specialty coffees on offer, they can participate in weekend home barista classes and purchase home brewing equipment.
The idea for this immersive experience came about four years ago, when Veneziano moved its Victorian business from four separate buildings in Abbotsford to one large plot in Richmond.
“The café is a benchmark for our wholesale customers. It’s a place they come to spark some inspiration, to road-test the latest in coffee equipment and gadgets and simply to hang out with our team,” Craig says.
More than just a company that distributes coffee to cafés, Veneziano ensures its holistic experience extends to its wholesale customers with support and advice to aid the growth of their business operations.
After visiting Veneziano Coffee Richmond, it is clear the roaster drew inspiration from Apple’s experience economy, transforming the traditional act of buying coffee into meaningful, important experiences for the customer.
Craig says the space has become a place to gain knowledge, promote interaction and ultimately serve. Looking to the future, he indicates the desire to take their flagship concept to key markets including Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide.
Visit Veneziano Coffee Richmond at 16-18 River Street, Richmond. Open seven days, 7am to 4pm weekdays, 8am to 4pm weekends.
For more information, visit www.venezianocoffee.com.au