If you're in Sydney, you might have been wondering what happened to our Barista Academy, because it's been missing for a while!
Nearly two years ago, we made the huge decision to move our Barista Academy out of its long-time NSW home and Cannon Street in Stanmore and into a new venue at the old bank site in Petersham. The Petersham site brought with it some major advantages like a ground-floor location that's far more approachable and accessible, a connected espresso bar space and the foundations of an existing fit-out already in place.
The move itself was no small task. The NSW team put in an enormous amount of work relocating operations out of Stanmore and into both Petersham and our new tech-specific hub in Marrickville. Once we were settled, we began planning the fit-out for the new Academy space... and that's when progress hit the brakes.
What followed was a long and frustrating period navigating approvals and processes between a number of different stakeholders. We won't go into too much detail, suffice to say that rather than sit idle while paying rent on a ready-to-use venue, we made the decision to move ahead and open the espresso bar.
The great news is that last week we officially received confirmation that all necessary approvals are now in place for the NSW Barista Academy fit-out and we're incredibly excited to move forward.
Our hope is that construction can begin ASAP, with the Academy opening and hosting its first classes within the next few months. If you haven't had a chance, please feel free to drop past the Espresso Bar for a coffee or attend our next cupping on the 24th of June and have a look at the new training centre.
