Neil and Zac Barrett opened Hemingway Cafe in Central Park today, the seventh venue the Perth father and son pair has established.
The cafe will be located in the newly-renovated Central Park lobby and serve specialty coffee made with a Modbar AV ABR espresso machine built into the bar, the only equipment of its type in WA.
The menu was designed in collaboration with chef Daniel Lim, who has worked with venues including Arrival Hall.
Hemingway Café general manager Zac Barrett said the location was perfect for engaging the public in specialty coffee.
He said renovations to the Central Park building also made it a prime space for a cafe, and the management's vision for the building met theirs.
“They just had such a unique vision of how to make a lobby tenancy not feel like a lobby tenancy, which we have always been very nervous about ourselves,” Mr Barrett told Business News.
The cafe will allow staff and businesses from the building to order online from the website and have coffee and food delivered to their floor.
Mr Barrett said the idea came about during the COVID-19 shutdown, which highlighted the need for contactless delivery.
“Also giving people access to that amenity in the building could make us a bit different and special from the other people around there,” he said.
“It just made a lot of sense to try get that off the ground.”
The pair began their foray into hospitality when Neil Barrett retired from his career as a retail executive and Zac Barrett finished university and they established Mo Espresso in Trinity Arcade, in 2013.
They have also opened Mo Allendale, Max & Sons, Arlo by Mo and Balance Expresso in the Perth CBD, and the licensed venue Jessie’s in North Fremantle.
The venue is offering free coffees for its hard opening tomorrow.
