Espresso Room opens doors in new location

Posted on 19 December, 2020

Caffiends on the Southside can top up on the good stuff once again with the opening of a new Espresso Room at Westfield Woden.

Now located upstairs between the two supermarkets in the fresh food precinct, the large open-air space brings a convenient hub to grab an ONA coffee and go.

Alternatively, a large forest green velvet-covered banquet, or upholstered armchairs provide a calming place to sit with friends over a brew.

Espresso Room was where it all began for Canberra coffee and bakery entrepreneur Michael Rose, who set up in Woden eight years ago. In partnership with Sasa Sestic, ONA founder and World Champion Barista, Michael brought well-crafted coffee into a shopping mall and the concept was rolled out in Tuggeranong and a number of Defence offices too.

But like so many businesses, COVID forced the temporary closure of two sites of his Espresso Rooms and Michael got busy expanding his other bakery business, Wildflour.

“It was super tough to close Espresso Room at the start of the year. So it’s exciting, stressful and a relief to reopen in the new location,” he said.

Naturally, customers can order one of Wildflour’s bakery treats or savoury pies to go with their coffee.

“COVID has made me tweak the model a bit more so the focus is more on takeaway,” Michael said.

“The best bit has been welcoming back our loyal customers, we have always appreciated the community here,” Michael said.

With plans afoot to roll out further Espresso Rooms in the other town centres, including reopening in Tuggeranong, Michael is as busy as ever. But he loves how Canberra loves a good coffee.

“It makes me proud to see us promoting ONA, which is such a local success story, and to see how much loyalty Canberrans have shown towards it.”