Maker Coffee South Yarra

In 2011, John and Stephanie Vroom opened their first cafe, Ora Specialty Coffee in Kew. Four years later, the Vrooms had bought a coffee roaster of their own and opened Maker Coffee in an industrial area in Richmond. For their first journey across the Yarra, they chose to keep it minimal.

Like the Richmond store, the focus is still coffee. Each fortnight there are 10 or so different single-origin brews on the menu, and the Vrooms pay careful attention to sourcing, roasting and cupping, rather than blending beans from different coffee regions.

But there’s also a small daily selection of sandwiches and sweet pastries from family-run Southern Italian deli Via Porta in Mont Albert. You’ll regularly find a peri peri chicken sandwich, or one with mortadella and pickled artichoke in the cabinet alongside plain and almond croissants (the almond croissant is filled with lemon curd) and pain au chocolat.

The space is bright with natural light, thanks to street-facing windows, and there are 15 seats around five granite-topped round tables, set up to facilitate conversation between customers and staff. It’s decorated in a minimal fashion with plants and blond timber accents, but a commissioned painting of cockatoos and colourful milk crates by Melbourne artist Madeleine Simson adds pops of yellow, orange and teal to one feature wall.

Opposite is Maker’s retail section with take-home coffee beans and brewing equipment. Maker baristas are trained to guide customers through a personal coffee-tasting experience and will happily explain home-brewing techniques using equipment from Moccamaster, Aeropress, V60 and more.