Salt. Coffee Roasters was one of the biggest local success stories of 2019. Owner Zac Lazerac’s bold gamble – jumping from a lucrative career in stockbroking to open up the Newstead-based boutique roasting operation – paid off big time, with the Doggett Street cafe scoring top marks from Brisbane’s discerning coffee die-hards. Although content with Salt’s swift ascent into the specialty coffee scene’s upper echelon, the thought of expansion was tantalising. Enter Jordon Navybox – managing director of top-tier buyer’s agency Cohen Handler – who approached Zac with the idea of opening a coffee pit stop at his agency’s new office on the corner of McLachlan Street and James Street (a stone’s throw from Gerard’s Bar). The building boasted a sunny space outside that was begging to be utilised, and with James Street’s emergence as Brisbane’s high street and available spaces coming at a premium, the opportunity was a no-brainer. Today Zac officially unveiled Little Salt – a spunky coffee-and-pastry-focused sibling to Salt’s full-service Newstead cafe.
Zac and Jordan have recruited the services of Lewis Shaw of Shaw and Keenan and construction specialists Brooklyn Building Co. to help actualise their vision for Little Salt’s look, which is predicated on a chic desert-style aesthetic (complete with some newly planted cacti) and a colour palette of white and green. Little Salt’s coffee kiosk (which is loaded with gleaming gear including a new San Remo Cafe Racer and Compak grinders) boasts a ribbed green frontage with a a few gold accents, as well as a little pastry cabinet showing off a selection of goodies from Sprout Artisan Bakery. A marble bench and a scattering of tables offer a prime perch for people watching, though folks eager to stretch out can also make use of the natural elements like the adjacent grassy strip or nearby boulders that double as low-set seats (each with a tiny table of its own). Zac has brought over much of Salt’s coffee service to the James Street newbie, offering the likes of choc-flake cappuccinos made on Salt’s Julie blend and single-origin batch brews (plus some more involved options to come – think orange iced espresso) to go with a range of HRVST ST juices.
Little Salt is now open to the public! More details can be found in the Stumble Guide.
