Beta, where the staff are free to chat and robots pour the coffee
At Beta in Surry Hills, the coffee is automated so the staff can actually connect with those around them. It's a simple idea that has made this cafe one of the best-ranked coffee shops in the world.
Chris Maybury didn't fall in love with coffee first. He fell in love with the moment behind the counter.
"I just love being at the register. 'Hey, how are you? How's your day?' Finding that person who's having a rough day, dropping a cookie off at their table, and seeing their face light up. It's a simple cookie, but it's so fun to make people feel special and seen and valued. I got obsessed with that. I fell in love with hospitality along the way."
But as he worked longer in the coffee industry, the further he got from the thing he loved.
"The longer I was in coffee, the less hospitality I was actually able to do. I found myself a slave behind the espresso machine, head down, pumping out coffees. I missed the interaction, and for years I just couldn't figure it out."
A move to Sydney after getting married only sharpened the problem.
"Sydney's a big city, and there's this fast-paced takeaway culture. All you do is head down and pump coffees. There's no moment of connection or excitement or theatre, all the things I loved. So I just needed my own shop. That's what it came down to."
So he went out on his own. A self-described "complete fake-it-till-you-make-it operation."
"I rocked up to every real estate viewing like I had millions of dollars ready to spend, and I had hardly anything in the bank. Just dreams and prayers in my heart. They'd ask, 'Can you send us an EOI?' and I'm like, absolutely. Then I'm asking ChatGPT what an EOI is, can you write one for me, thank you."
Chris knew hospitality and he knew people, and when he landed the space that became Beta, he knew the business side would come over time.
"I wanted robots to do robot things and humans to do human things. I love crafting individual cups, the espressos, the pourovers by hand, but I had no time to. So I wanted the robots to do all the pumping, so I could have all the time in the world to talk to customers and connect."
It's a philosophy he's built the whole team around.
"I can literally tell my employees: I'm paying you to connect. I'm paying you to talk. The automation is going to back me up, but you do what robots can't, which is connect. We have hundreds of moments of connection every day, and it's so magical."
That bet paid off faster than anyone expected. Seven or eight months in, Beta was ranked 13th in the world.
"I thought it would take a lot longer to get there. Basically overnight, everything doubled. Sales doubled. And the only reason we were able to survive is because of automation. We were leaning so heavy on pre-batched espresso just to pump through the line.
The ranking brought a flood of new customers, and a scramble to keep up.
"We thought it'd be gradual, that we'd add stock and staff as we went. But it was boom, a day or two later, everything exploded. We're ordering coffees from all over the world, so it can take two weeks to arrive. I was scrambling for any coffee I could get my hands on. The shifts were long and insane. We were all just cooked."
A year on, things have settled.
"We got through that crazy season. Now we have more staff, regular stock, and we're about 85% good."
For Chris, the ranking helped him reach more people.
"More and more people are getting to hear the vision, see it, taste the coffee, taste coffees they've never tasted before. All these new people are coming in and getting to explore the world of coffee. If you find something you love, an ice cream or a song or a TV show, you just want to share it."
And introducing people to something new is where he lights up most.
"Someone's sitting here drinking a batch brew and I say, 'Hey, want another?' 'No, I'm topped out on caffeine.' 'How about a decaf?' 'Oh, I don't drink decaf.' And we all just look at each other and smile, because we've got seven different decafs. The quality is exploding right now. It's so fun."
His advice for anyone thinking about following the same path is blunt:
"If you're not passionate about coffee or food or hospitality, don't do it. Do anything else. You're giving your whole life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, locking in for at least 10 years. If you don't absolutely love it and care about your product and your customers, it'll burn you out. But when you love it, it's amazing, it's magical."
Categories
Customer Stories
Food lover, restaurant-goer, hospitality appreciator, and writer of content at Ordermentum.
