As we turn the page to start a new chapter for our Sydney office in Petersham, we want to look back and celebrate Stanmore and the cast of people that have shaped our NSW chronicle.
It was a momentous day in 2015 when we officially moved into Cannon Street, Stanmore after a long search, design and build process headed up by coffee guru Ben Bicknell. Working closely with the expert craftsman, Steve from Porter & Maple, Ben’s vision turned the Cannon Street site from a somewhat man-cave into an exquisitely designed educational facility. We aimed at providing professional coffee learning to our growing list of NSW cafes and being a hub for the state’s barista community. Our NSW team were also chuffed to work in an office space that wasn’t the front seat of their car!
The first of its kind in Australia, we kitted out Cannon Street with world class equipment and implemented our evolving curriculum to reflect the progression of Australian coffee craft. Stanmore was also host to a myriad of coffee events, including Q-Grader courses, AeroPress championships, Latte Art Comps, fundraisers, coffee equipment launches and our very own Curated Cupping series. Since then, we’ve swung open the doors to more barista industry hubs with our Adelaide barista academy and Queensland following suit in the coming weeks.
During the first few years of our Five Senses presence in NSW, we had a host of people instrumental to our growth and success. Ben was of course the OG. He was charged with the project and saw it to a glorious reality. Then came the two K’s - Andy and Shauny - in the seat of NSW State Manager. Also, take a bow Tim, Geoff, Dave, Nathan, Henry, Demelza, Sophie, Bianca, Jakey-boy, Jimmy and Billy Willie Style who were either barista trainers or Account Managers over the years. Our Tech’s Valter, Shaddy, Daniel and George occupied the spacious workplace and kept the chorus of NSW coffee machines humming. Down the halls of Stanmore have walked legends aplenty and to all of them we raise our cup and toast to their commitment with gratitude. Thankyou!
Now Anthony Svilicich and his NSW team will author a new chapter across the tracks in Petersham. It’s still under wraps (the excitement is killing us!) but within a few months we’ll be offering the same state-of-the-art training plus we may even be pumping out a few coffees for the public too.
So, with Anthony, Krysty, Nick, James and the Tone-star, we bid farewell to Stanmore. We thank you for enduring its sketchy history, cavernous downstairs warehouse and gorgeous open plan upstairs spaces, and we say hello to a heritage architectural beauty in Petersham.
