A wholesome new chapter for the Crema Coffee Garage has arrived with the opening of their new cafe space, Finn & Bickley’s.

We caught up with Tim and Jane, the passionate owners behind Crema Coffee Garage to hear about the business’ 20+ year journey and what exactly you can expect from their newest venture.

Tim’s connection to coffee runs deep, tracing back to his great grandfather who was a coffee and tea merchant in Circular Quay and owned a cafe in Martin Place in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“I honestly didn’t know that was the case until a few years into the business. My mother said ‘you know what your great grandfather did don’t you?’ I had no idea but it’s obviously in the blood,” Tim said.

This rich family history has been woven into the fabric of the Crema Coffee Garage brand with Finn and Bickley paying homage to both Tim and Jane’s respective family names and their Brisbane-based cafe, Tank Stream Social, a nod to the Tank Stream district in Sydney; the location of Tim’s great grandfather’s business.

The Crema Coffee Garage journey spans over two decades with the initial concept starting when the pair were running their own cafe which some of you may remember – in the former Blue Door spot on Hunter Street.

“We wanted to roast coffee for ourselves and I was fortunate that a guy that I was introduced to was one of Australia’s leading coffee roasters back then. I didn’t know who he was, and I just asked if he could teach me how to roast coffee.

“We had people coming into the cafe asking where we got our coffee from and I would turn around and point at our roaster. At the time, it was just us and Peaberrys doing roasting, that was it!”

Crema Coffee Garage has called their spot in Broadmeadow home for more than 15 years, and 2024 has seen the brand expand into the space next door with the arrival of their cafe,  Finn & Bickleys, plus retail space, mechanic area, and upstairs offices. Next door will be stage two of the development – watch this space.

“We really wanted to use Finn & Bickley’s to show what we do as a company. Having the mechanics there and being able to watch them work on your machinery and that transparency of it. We still get so many people coming in that have no idea that we service coffee machines,” Jane said.

The cafe’s interior has seen no stone unturned with the attention to detail and unique approach to design otherwise unseen in the local cafe scene.

“The designer has done a really good job with the product and what we needed the space to have. We didn’t want it to be a typical looking cafe, it had to be completely different.”

Whether it’s the piazza-style showroom, Gatsby-esque branding, slick retail space, customised hero light feature, or just their food and drink offering – there’s plenty to admire.

As Finn & Bickley’s and Crema Coffee Garage continue to grow and evolve, Tim and Jane’s dedication to their craft and their community remains. This new spot is not just a place to enjoy exceptional coffee, it’s a space filled with history, passion, and a deep sense of purpose.