Arguably described as the original hipsters, Jean of Dip Café and David of Bun Coffee have a combined 50+ years of café experience between them and have seen first hand the café landscape change considerably over the years. With Dip celebrating 8 years and Bun Coffee 13 years of business in Byron and a working relationship of 24 years and counting they know a thing or two about business longevity and the secret to success.
With customer/supplier relationships unanimously at the forefront of what both businesses define as success, their shared working history from Bondi to Byron is worth celebrating.
Jean’s café in the heart of Bondi saw the likes of Jodhi Meares, Brian Brown and Michael Hutchence as regulars to name a few.
“David roasted a specific blend for us, it contained a unique Indonesian bean which we just had to have. It was a really hard bean to roast we later discovered but David found a way, his roasting knowledge and methods are second to none. We continued to serve that blend for many years,” recalls Jean.
For David the food Jean creates is always a standout. “ His croque madame is incredible.”
When Jean relocated to Byron Bay from Bondi Beach, one of his priorities was finding a good coffee supplier, which came in the form of a recommendation for Bun Coffee.
“As soon as I visited Bun and saw it was David it was a case of ‘it’s you, when can we start’. David and his team at Bun have always provided quality of product and service that we never experienced elsewhere in all our years of dealing with coffee suppliers”, says Jean.
For David it’s a similar story. “Our customers are at the forefront of what we do. It’s our customer relationships that drive our business.”
“Over the years I’ve also owned and operated cafes which is where my interest in coffee roasting originally started, so I understand the needs of the cafes and what’s involved and how important coffee is as part of the overall café mix, all the way from the consistent delivery to the quality of the coffee, the equipment and the actual final coffee that someone drinks’.
With Dip listed as number 1 Byron Bay Café on TripAdvisor it was a case of why wouldn’t you have a local coffee supplier.
“Our menu is all about providing our customers with a local produce experience including the coffee, we didn’t want to supply our customers with Sydney or Melbourne coffees which they can get anywhere,” continues Jean.
With such a competitive landscape and new trends that come and go both David and Jean agree it’s all about staying true to your roots. Providing a consistently good product, being accountable to your customers and staff and doing business with like-minded people. For them their businesses are part of their lives, it takes an enormous amount of hard work but something they love and made all the more enjoyable creating good working relationships along the way.
As they reminisce how far they’ve both come from when they first made their moves to Byron. For David their current location in the Arts and Industry Estate was simply a warehouse in a paddock and an unwavering dream to roast quality coffee and for Jean, escaping the Bondi rat race and taking a chance on a café business in a quiet side street with no kerb and guttering at the time, their leaps of faith have paid off.
For these 2 local businesses celebrating such great milestones, Byron is glad they made the move!