Photos by Josh Geelen.
An Adelaide DJ has recently opened up a new café in the CBD, bringing high-end coffee and grooved-up music to the city’s bustling business hub. Sway, owned by Adelaide local Declan Huston, is nestled on the ground floor of Naylor House on Pulteney Street, and is now open from Monday to Friday between the hours of 7am and 3pm.
Declan, a 32 year old DJ, entertainer, barista, and now a business owner, has always been interested in travelling overseas to learn about different cultures, especially their music and coffee tastes. He’s worked in hospitality for over a decade, getting his start at Caffeteca (now Mylk Bar) in North Adelaide before moving on to Abbots and Kinney over on Pirie Street.
With 13 years of experience behind a coffee machine and 11 behind the DJ decks, Declan says he wanted to “inject fitting music into a café” and create “a little environment where you can come for the grab and go or sit for a couple hours and let the music take you on a journey”.
“Watching people enjoy music while having a nice coffee is quite a nice feeling. Very wholesome”, he says.
He’s been working towards the founding of his own café for a while now, and after a long search finally found a suitable location along Pulteney Street. The café offers a range of options, from milk-based and espresso drinks to filter coffee and even decaf, matcha, and chai for those who don’t need their caffeine fix as much as the rest of us.
He sources his coffee beans from Ona, a company based in Canberra. A buddy of Declan’s, Reece, now works for Ona, but used to visit Declan at Cotto for his coffee fix and was inspired to make coffee himself. When Declan was in the process of opening his café, he chose Ona for his personal connection with the company and for their high-end product, which means a coffee at Sway is a little pricier than your average cup of joe, but it’s worth it for the rich flavours.
There’s also a selection of pastries from Prove Patisserie on Magill Road, adding a sweet touch to your visit. For those looking for something more substantial, Declan plans to introduce toasties, bagels, focaccia, and some salads. The goal is to offer a space where people can either grab something quickly or stay to build their own meal.
Sway is not just a coffee hotspot, but a carefully curated journey during which music and espresso go hand in hand. The music at his café evolves throughout the day, beginning with mellow tunes in the morning and switching to more upbeat tracks as the day goes along.
“Getting into the shop in the morning, you don’t want fast-paced music. But later on in the day, a quick song will make me want to work quicker.”
As a huge believer in the quality of Adelaide’s music scene, Declan sources a lot of music from local artists on Spotify and Bandcamp, and also hopes to hire local DJs to spin records on site.
Managing the two worlds of music and hospitality can be challenging, but Declan embraces it.
“The hours are different, but coffee definitely helps,” he laughs.
“It’s cool to see customers from both sides of my life, the café in the day, and the music scene at night. It’s fun to see someone I made a coffee for on a Wednesday show up at a gig I’m DJing on a Saturday.”
Looking ahead, Declan has plans to combine coffee and retail at Sway. A friend of his runs the Hand-me-down Heat vintage store in Prospect, and he mentioned installing a clothing rack in the café. He’d also like to offer take home packs and household products like bread, milk, yoghurt, and coffee beans to take home.
But for now, his focus remains on creating a space where community and connection thrive. So whether it’s through the perfect coffee, a thoughtful playlist, or a warm welcome, Declan wants his café to be a place where people feel at home.
You can find Sway at 191 Pulteney St, Adelaide, South Australia 5000.
WHAT: Sway
WHEN: Monday – Friday from 7am-3pm
WHERE: 191 Pulteney St, Adelaide, South Australia 5000
For more information, click here.
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