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With its sleek concrete and copper interior, gorgeous display cabinet and top-of-the-range coffee brewing equipment, Esprezzo is far from your average shopping centre café. Situated in Noranda Shopping Village in Perth’s north, Esprezzo services customers from all walks of life.
On an average day you might see young coffee enthusiasts chatting away to the baristas while a group of retirees settle in for their weekly catch up; everyone is welcome and feels comfortable here. Owners Jason and Bri Robinson have operated Esprezzo for the last nine years, but their vision for the space was clear from the start; “Great coffee, healthy food, support local, try different things.” Taking pride of place on the wall in an artistic fashion is the Esprezzo Manifesto, a compendium of beliefs that sum up everything these guys are about.
Jason and Bri’s vision has always been to bring the quality and atmosphere of an inner city hotspot to the suburbs. They are also strong advocates for change and eagerly embrace the constantly evolving multiculturalism that is now so prevalent in Australia; an attitude that is reflected in all aspects of the café, particularly in the menu. One of the most popular menu items is the Warm Zen Bowl (or Ochazuke). Head chef Keiko draws upon her Japanese heritage to bring this amazing (and healthy) dish to the people of Noranda.
With seaweed, mushrooms, edamame, kimchi and Asian greens topped with hot green tea, the Warm Zen Bowl is a must-try! Even on a quiet day, Esprezzo is bustling hub of activity with both regulars and new customers alike. If you ask Jason what makes the café so popular he will reply “A successful café is lots of little things done very well.” It is clear that he has a great passion for what he does and it is reflected in the overall atmosphere and even through the staff “Passion starts at the top.”
He muses “If you’re not passionate about what you do then you can’t expect your staff to be.” This passion, of course, extends to coffee. Esprezzo has been using Dimattina Coffee since its inception and has never wavered in quality. Every coffee that goes out is meticulously crafted; stunning latte art adorns every cup that leaves the machine, single origin coffee is readily available (both espresso and filter style), even the Turmeric lattes are beautifully decorated with small flowers. How does Jason describe their relationship with coffee? “Obsessed.”
In addition to running the café, Jason and Bri also operate a café consultancy business which helps new café owners with everything from location planning to coffee training. There is a huge amount that goes into running a successful hospitality business (more than people expect) and Esprezzo’s consultancy services go to great lengths to ease that transitionary period for people new to the industry.
The best bit of advice for people looking to start a café? “Be prepared to work hard.” So what drives Esprezzo and its team to not only provide excellent food, coffee and service, but to also constantly try new things? Customers. “Seeing customers appreciate what we do and love the food and coffee drives us to continually improve.” Esprezzo is open Mon – Sat 8am – 5pm. Drop by and experience it for yourself, we promise you won’t regret it.
