Interview: Who is Wes?
Interview Questions
Introduce yourself! How would you describe what you do in one sentence.
I’m Wes – a guy that has been in hospitality for too long to do anything else and tasting and celebrating all things coffee in Melbourne.
When you’re not at work (or drinking coffee) – what are you doing?
Exploring the Melbourne food and bar scene and being @whereswes on Instagram.
How long have you lived in Melbourne for?
At a time in Melbourne where you could buy a cup of coffee for $1.80.
What do you love about Melbourne’s coffee culture – if you have lived elsewhere – what differs between Melbourne coffee culture and other places you have lived?
Sports has always been Melbourne’s identity historically but the hospitality scene – combination of the coffee, bars and restaurants – has carved a new identity that has made Melbourne unique to others living interstate or overseas and I am really proud and passionate about being involved in that growing trend.
If I wasn’t living in Melbourne, I would love to be in New York for the metropolitan lifestyle and aurora of taking on opportunities where success is celebrated. Their café scene in the past has been mainly pot brewed coffee, but lots of café owners there are taking on the specialty coffee trends. It would be so exciting to be part of that right now in NYC because that was where Melbourne’s specialty coffee scene was at ten years ago.
How do you think the world at the moment impacted on Melbourne’s coffee scene?
With lockdown, it is a strange feeling because the hospitality industry was already in trouble prior (to COVID). It has caused not only financial pain, but emotional strain on families and friends with no back up or plan B to fall back on.
However, there has been a real community feel between café owners and their local community that visit for their regular coffee. There is hope going forward that the previous issues get a real hard look and bring change for the future of this industry. It would be a real loss of identity for Melbourne if hospitality owners are not supported to be creative and push boundaries that put us all on the map at one stage!
Name your top three cafes, and why?
That is like choosing your favourite child but my top three reasons why I would go back and support a hospitality business would be: real personality in their service, amazing coffee and food and they don’t try too hard to be something they are not.
What’s your go-to coffee order?
Batch. It’s fast, tasty and the barista’s eyes light up (not because you appreciate the coffee bean they have just brewed) because they can move you past the line of people waiting for their milk based coffees – and you get to walk past people with coffee in hand like a hero.
How do you think Melbourne’s coffee scene will change in the future – how would you want it to change, if you had the power to?
The hospitality industry as whole will change and COVID has only move this change forward sooner. Traditionally, café owners were about trying to fit sit-ins to increase maximum spend and take away was just a bonus on top. Now, business models need to take advantage of efficient workflow and think how to utilise takeaway as the priority in order to increase maximum spend by volume.
Technology has moved people to ordering online and cashless payments – another trend that has been brought forward and business owners can’t think that business will go back to usual because they will be left wondering why people are not coming to their venues.
Brunch will still be the way of life in Melbourne but watch this space – it is about to become takeaway friendly, or about to be shoved between two pieces of bread from a micro bakery or local baker that has pivoted from the loss of their job. The power of targeting locals around your business geography is about to become reality.
If I was to change anything, I would change customer’s mindset of what costs actually goes into making the coffees and food and be willing to support with their wallets. In saying that though, café owners cannot stick their hands in their pockets and think just because they bought over a café or due to a long-life dream to open one that people will come in regardless. They have a responsibility to be proactive in listening to what their local customers want and build their business around that rather than thinking what they would want in a café.
I believe that it does take two to tango and I would love to change the mindset on both parties because realistically that has been the number one miscommunication that brought the industry to its knees prior. With Made in Melbourne Coffee Collective our agency is built on working with café business owners to not only understand good coffee but also direct their attention to what their customers look for.