The actual space is unique in that it was designed to house our training centre too. As you walk into the double volume space you can climb a set of stairs that take you to the glassed off training centre, complete with a demo bar. We have since outgrown this space and will be moving the training space to a unique set up in Woodstock, and upstairs will be converted to spill-over seating, a little bit away from the crowded floor below – watch this space! It’s going to be pretty.
What sets Dock Road apart from our other café or kiosk offerings is that there is an entire additional experiential bar, as well as the usual bar you have come to know and love. Here you can taste our Single Origin whole bean range in a variety of different brewing methods, learn a little bit more about coffee in general, how to brew at home, or simply kick back and have your usual treat from the classic bar.
Our differentiating factor has always been The Way You Like It. No ego, no ‘no sugar if you want to drink real coffee’, no ‘Death to Decaf’. We believe that the way you want it, is the way you should be able to get it, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t authorities on the matter of incredible coffee! We can do it all, and this unique bar is all about that.
In the early stages of the company, we used a lot of black and white imagery, with nods to the lingo that sets us apart in terms of ‘The Way You Like It’, and colourful patterning and textures that have a bit of a Mark Rothko feel. Think layered colours, textures, with our own language twist. At Dock Road we blended this nod to the old-school in a more modern way, with various artworks around the store. We also have two beautiful feature walls. The double volume mural as you walk in is a play on the packaging and patterning of our Whole Bean coffee range, with it being the first store to offer it, painted by That Damn Vandal. The double exposures along the passage to the bar section of the store were shot for us, on film, by Matt Griffiths and feature various Seattle Coffee Company faces overlaid with stores, interiors, our roastery out in Muizenberg and the like. A real digital meets analog nod to where we are, and where we have been.
