Three years ago Ashleigh Staegemann moved to Adelaide from the United Kingdom, a place where she never really liked the coffee, despite it being arguably one of the world’s most sought after beverages.
When she made the move though, she gave the Adelaide coffee scene a go, knowing how seriously we take our brew.
“I fell in love with coffee, fell in love with a few roasters and cafes around Adelaide specifically,” Ashleigh said.
That’s how Seacombe Gardens’ newest coffee shop, Coffee Society, was born.
“It’s a love language, being able to make people coffee and to serve, and I love speaking to people every single day.”
The new venue will be settling into a little spot, previously known as Frankie Haus, alongside colourful art space Muse Haus. When the opportunity came up to take over the cafe space, Ashleigh took it as a sign to open her own shop.
“We just want to bring joy to people,” Ashleigh said.
“My thing is, I don’t want people to walk away and say, “All right, I’ve had a bad coffee,” I want them to be able to come back.”
The small space will be ideal for locals and visitors travelling through to grab a great coffee, with the same great service, that Ashleigh hopes to bring from behind the counter each day.
This project has been in the pipeline for over a year, as both Ashleigh and her husband both work full time and have little girl to keep an eye on.
“The big push for me, especially with the coffee shop, was that it would suit my daughter’s preschool hours,” she said.
“I’d have a lot more flexibility than working full-time in a corporate job, so she’s kind of been the biggest push for us to say, “Let’s do this.”
Coffee Society will have all the classic coffees we know and love, from iced coffee and lattes to long blacks and some seasonal monthly specials. On the food side, the offering isn’t overdoing it with small grab-and-go pastries and baked goods, including muffins, cinnamon scrolls and almond croissants, with hopes to stock items from Jenny’s Bakery.
The venue itself will be hard to miss, with a pink-lined door opening into a space Ashleigh describes as “warm and inviting.” Inside, there’ll be bookshelves, a handful of seats inside and out and a dog bowl for our four-legged friends. Think rugs draped over chairs, pot plants and flowers tucked onto spare surfaces and cold hands wrapped around big mugs of steaming coffee.
“I want to make a culture and a community of the space that we have, for everybody,” she said.
“Every day we’re going to be seeing people walking the dogs and people dropping their children off to the daycare that’s just down the road.
“I want to be a part of their everyday life.”
Image: Muse Haus
In the future Ashleigh is planning to team up with Muse Haus for local artists and creatives who want a coffee or coffee lovers who want to get a bit artsy.
“We’ll be offering a crafts menu, so people can come in and do some knitting or grab a coffee at the same time, and have a space where they can unwind and do their favourite hobby and have a coffee.”
“So it’s collaborating with the art world as well… and doing something (to get) out of the house.”
Coffee Society will be doing a soft opening over a couple weekends in June with the official opening date on July 13.
Coffee Society
Where: 577 Morphett Rd, Seacombe Gardens
When: Soft opening expected in June
For updates, click here.
