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How Bennett Street Dairy turned coffee into wine

After 11 years of serving Bondi Road its morning coffee, Bennett St Dairy is opening its doors after dark.

Bennett St Dairy sits on a corner that Cliff Baskin says is hard to find in Sydney.

"There's not many spots like this in Sydney. It's on a really nice corner. The sun shines down in the morning and in the afternoon. We're close to the Junction and near the beach, but we're not too far down Bondi Road where all the other shops are."

It’s why, after 11 years serving the locals coffee, Cliff decided it was time to graduate to wine.


"I really just thought, the only way to really grow the business is to open more hours, and essentially open a wine bar. Luckily, I like food. I like wine. So it wasn't such a hard transition."

At the time of our interview, the wine bar had been running for about four weeks, and the early signs were good.

"It's been great so far. Winter's not so bad for us. It's cosy. It's a nice corner."

The approach to the menu hasn't changed with the hours.

"You just get good ingredients, really simple stuff, because I think that's what people want. People don't like fancy food. I don't like fancy food. I just like food that's reasonably priced, good quality, and you leave full."

Of course, as with any successful venue, building a team that’s cohesive and wants to be there is essential.

"I love all the guys and girls who work here. Obviously, I couldn't do anything without them."

"When I started, I was trying to become a chef. The kitchens that I was in, the owners were a bit older, so they were all just sort of grumpy, angry, a lot of screaming and shouting. And I guess times have completely changed."

"My aim for everyone here is not to wake up and think, 'Oh no, I've got to go to work again.' Treat them like your family, and they'll come back."

While wine is their exciting new offering, coffee is always going to be a cornerstone for the Dairy.

"Coffee is probably our bread and butter. That's really important to us. Food's there as well, obviously, but I'd say coffee mostly. We probably go through 60 kilos of coffee a week."

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