Images via Rival Brothers Henley Beach
Henley Beach has scored a new coffee spot, with Rival Brothers Coffee Roasters opening its third permanent home, just in time for winter beach walks and morning coffee runs.
It was around eight years ago when two brothers, Toby and Jeno, came up with Rival Brothers Coffee Roasters all from the idea that great coffee should feel good, taste great and connect a community.
The Henley Beach opening marks Rival Brothers’ third permanent home, following its Cheltenham cafe and roastery on Port Road and its Mount Barker cafe in the Adelaide Hills.
“It’s the perfect grab and go spot,” Toby said. “We’ve really tried to make sure our offering is diverse for different types of people, depending on whether they’re a worker, a tradie, local businesses, teachers, parents doing school drop-off, or people just visiting Henley.”
One of the biggest points of difference is that Rival Brothers roasts its own coffee at Cheltenham, with the Henley site also selling retail beans for those making coffee at home.
“I think it’s an advantage that it’s our own coffee that we’re using,” Toby said. “You can also buy retail coffee beans from us on site at Henley as well.”
The Henley coffee bar is also giving the team a chance to try something slightly different, with canned drinks and cold foam options joining the line-up.
“We’re doing a few kind of bougie items… which is a little bit different for us,” Toby said.
The coffee bar will be offering most of their much-loved menu items that we see at their already-existing stores. Think hot and toasted baked goods like a brekkie wrap and bacon and egg roll for the early birds, and a peri chicken wrap and shroom toastie for the afternoon.
“It’s a bit of everything for everyone, which is why we try to keep those key things that we think have made Cheltenham so successful the same, even though it’s a very small site.”
Although winter may have just started, we’ll be hanging out for the summer sun, when it’s the prime time to grab one of their fresh chicken sandos or a prosciutto focaccia and head down to the beach.
Each day, a different array of sweets line the clear cabinets, with melt-in-your-mouth pastries, banana bread and loaded cookies; our noses will be touching the glass case for a good look.
Of course, the drinks play the most important role, and with their own signature blend, you’ll find hot and cold options like long black, mocha and iced lattes. We won’t go into the full list, but it’s all the cult favourites you can find at their Cheltenham cafe.
If we rewind the clock to when it all started, before the cafes and the coffee van, there was Jeno. At the time, he was working in cafes, which gave him an insight into not only coffee and roasting, but the whole industry.
This is where Toby came in. With an “entrepreneurial drive and hands-on approach”, they were able to kick start this business, not knowing how far they’d go. It took many hours of experiments, hard work and investigation to create a coffee roast they were happy with.
In 2020, they started up a retro coffee van in Somerton Park, which still operates to this very day, bringing dog walkers and beachgoers a great spot to grab their morning must – a coffee.
For the brothers, the Henley opening is about keeping things simple with great coffee, fan favourites and a few fun new additions that fit right in with the Henley Beach scene.
Rival Brothers Henley
Where: 337 Military Rd, Henley Beach SA 502
When: daily from 6.30am – 2pm
For more, click here.
