Craft Coffee brings its Newtown buzz to Parktown North

Five years after opening their coffee roastery in Newtown’s Gwigwi Mrwebi Street, Craft Coffee opened a second location in Parktown North.

Its new store is not only a coffee bar, but also a cafe that serves breakfasts and lunches.

We chatted to owner Andrew Brown to find out more.

Your new Parktown North location replaces the old Patachou French bakery and patisserie. What’s the connection between the two?

I had only just discovered Patachou – I loved their artisan French baguettes – when I learned the business was going into liquidation. They had a large production bakery set up in Honeydew, and I ended up buying most of the assets that were on auction.

The assets are essentially the whole bakery, which we’ll be setting up this year to once again produce artisan breads and pastries, and especially those French baguettes that I love!

How do you source your coffee?

We source ours through local green coffee bean importers. All our coffee can be traced back to origin, and we use reputable suppliers who ensure the farmers and cooperatives where our coffee comes from, get a fair price for their produce.

We offer tours of our Newtown coffee roastery where people can learn about the art and science of sourcing and roasting coffee.

Tell us about your food menu?

Our menu ranges from health breakfasts to eggs hollandaise to open sandwiches and salads. We use artisan breads and bake our pastries on site. Our bagels are made from scratch each day.

There are quite a few coffee competitors in the area. How are yours different?

Craft Coffee started out as a chain of in-corporate coffee bars under The Daily Buzz brand, and then a couple of years ago we opened our coffee roastery in Newtown. So, we come from a strong tradition of coffee roasting, and our baristas are knowledgeable and passionate about the coffee we use and sell at the cafe.

We have a whole range of roasted coffee for home use – and we believe we serve the best coffee in Joburg. For the non-coffee drinkers, we have a fine collection of loose leaf teas which are expertly prepared and served either hot or cold, as well as our own house blend of hot chocolate.

This article was originally published in the Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Property and Lifestyle guide. Visit Yourneighbourhood.co.za