Grinding up to 50 kilograms of coffee some weeks is a mighty effort for a new cafe. But for Bean Workin’ Espresso, a tiny takeaway coffee window that opened in the middle of a pandemic? Even more impressive.

It helps to be located on the ground floor of the Haven Newstead Apartments. Owner Yolanda Van Houtte says she’s “become quite close” to residents over the past few months. “A lot of them are [still] working from home … I’m making sure they have a super consistent little coffee spot downstairs,” Van Houtte tells Broadsheet.

Van Houtte is no stranger to the coffee business. She’s worked as a barista in New Zealand and Australia for 12 years, but this is the first cafe she’s owned. The opportunity arose in June when Short Order by Jocelyn’s Provisions invited Van Houtte to operate the shop's coffee window, while Salt Meats Cheese operated a pop-up deli in the remaining space.

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After two successful months, Van Houtte was rewarded with the opportunity to expand. With the Salt Meats Cheese pop-up coming to a close, Bean Workin’ Espresso has now taken over the whole space. The bones of the fit-out are still intact, but Van Houtte has added pops of colour in the form of bright new furniture and removed a fridge to create more space. There’s also lots of greenery complementing the leafy wall in the laneway outside.

Van Houtte is still serving Short Order's sandwiches, salads, wraps, pies, sausage rolls and sweets. In the coming weeks, she hopes to bring a brunch menu on-stream and bring back Short Order’s popular rotisserie chicken.

For coffee, Van Houtte is running Coffee Supreme’s South blend and offering filter made with single-origin beans from Kenya. There are also teas by Origin and freshly squeezed juices.

Bean Workin’ Espresso
63 Skyring Terrace, Newstead
Hours:
5am–3pm daily

instagram.com/beanworkin/