The Mowbray Newsagency on Invermay Road is a well established newsagency serving Mowbray and the greater Northern Suburbs. A large portion of its business is Tattslotto and Tobacco sales as well as Newspapers, Magazines, Stationary and Gifts. Following comments and requests from regular customers, the owners of the Mowbray Newsagency recognised there was a market for quality coffee in the area, a service that would greatly complement the offerings of their store.

The 6ty° architectural team were engaged to develop a concept for a takeaway coffee counter within the confines of the existing Newsagency. Whilst a simple counter tucked in the corner would meet their requirements, there was an opportunity to develop a contemporary, welcoming Espresso Bar that would appear to stand on its own and entice a new clientelle as well as service the regular customers. Half of the existing shopfront was set aside as the new face of ‘Mobrew Coffee’.

From the main shopfront, deep plywood blades angled toward the entry draw customers towards the coffee counter as they enter the store, with the counter also directed toward the entry. These plywood blades are the predominant architectural feature of the Espresso Bar tapering down towards the front counter and back up towards the rear counter, which then change direction to form a transparent screen to the remainder of the newsagency. Perpendicular blades intersect the main blades and continue down the adjacent wall forming a series of display shelves. Contrasting with the warm natural notes of the floor tiles and hoop pine plywood blades is a raw black formply substrate. The main counter and benchtops are seamless reconstituted stone appearing as a solid natural element. Black state-of-the-art composite Nanogranite sinks with crisp lines and matching black fixtures blend in to the counters. A bench at the shopfront allows those customers not in a rush to enjoy a coffee whilst reading the paper or watching the busy day-to-day traffic on Invermay Road

This project creates a strong distinction between the Espresso Bar and remainder of the newsagency allowing it to become both a destination and complement the services of the newsagency.