Ask Fonzie Abbott founder Dan Pappas why he made the decision to open a brand-new roastery, coffee bar and operations centre in Newstead’s backstreets and he’ll put it simply – Fonzie Abbott needed more space. It needed more room to roast, more room for storage, more room for packaging and more room for distribution. After 12 years of operation, Fonzie Abbott was starting to nudge the upper limits of its production capacity.

We’re not talking about a small amount of coffee, either. With a wholesale portfolio boasting more than 300 clients stretching from Sydney to Mackay, Fonzie Abbott moves a weighty amount of product each year. In order to avoid plateauing, Fonzie Abbott had to expand.

“We could do what we are doing, but we couldn’t grow,” says Dan. “We just needed more space for a bigger roaster and more capacity.”

Fonzie Abbott’s new headquarters on Ross Street, which officially opened to the public on Saturday April 20, has already helped alleviate some of the pressure. The crew has been roasting on site since December, with a new gargantuan roasting machine outstripping the production capacity of the two small roasters the team was using at OG location in Albion, which also doubles as a distillery and microbrewery.

The brick warehouse, which was previously home a digital agency and artist studio (Dan, who grew up in the area, reveals it was also a Yamaha motorbike outlet, long before) has been refit to suit Fonzie’s specific needs. The studio out back is now Fonzie’s main roasting and packaging space (one of the smaller roasters is still active in Albion), while the street-fronting office space has been converted into the location’s shiny new coffee bar and retail area.

“This is Fonzie Abbott now,” says Dan. “The head office is here, the full roastery is here and our new espresso bar is at the front. We’re still in the old [Albion] space – we still use that for extra roasting.”

For most visitors, Fonzie Abbott Newstead’s coffee bar is what will likely be of most interest. The cafe space, with its polished-concrete floors and monochromatic colour scheme (a Fonzie Abbott signature) is a sleek space to enjoy a cuppa. The retail shelves are laden with merch, take-home bags of beans, brewing apparatus and even some boozy products. Beyond flat whites and cappuccinos, Dan is looking to make Newstead the spot to find more experimental sips – rarer gear that has undergone different kinds of pre-roast processing.

“We just wanted to make it simple and more about coffee, so that’s why we’re buying different processed coffees” says Dan. “We’ve got great relationships with [the farms] and they tell us when they are trying a different things. They might ferment it for one week in a barrel with honey and lime or rum. We’ll give it a go.”

Dan informs us that once the coffee bar finds its footing, V60 and pour-over brews will be added to the mix. On the food front, the team is keeping things concise – pastries, sandwiches and brekkie wraps will be on offer (those after a more substantial feed are encouraged to head to Fonzie Abbott’s Albion site or Vice Coffee House in New Farm).

Even in an increasingly competitive coffee scene, Fonzie Abbott’s lightning bolt is a common sight. According to Dan, there’s no special secret behind Fonzie Abbott’s enduring success. In fact, when working directly with farmers to source quality beans, most of the work is done early.

“We start with an amazing product and if we don’t ruin it in the roasting process, it’s going to taste good,” says Dan. “We try and make coffee that’s easy for our wholesale customers to serve consistently, and just try and be polite and service people.”

Fonzie Abbott Newstead is now open to the public – head to the Stumble Guide for operating hours and other important details.