Since opening, Cornerstone Stores has become a much-loved community hub, a place to meet for coffee, browse boutiques you won’t find anywhere else and procure premium wine. Now, the family that envisioned the Currumbin locale have delivered The Warehouses – a sun-dappled space that intentionally and thoughtfully blurs the line between work and leisure. Among the first crop of tenants is Lobby, a neighbourhood coffee nook by the founder of Tugun’s Good Day Coffee.
When DJ Swan sold Good Day Coffee in Tugun, he thought he was stepping out of hospitality for good. But, as anyone who has worked in the industry knows, there’s an undeniable pull that drew him back in, like a moth to a flame.
“The energy of it is hard to escape,” he says.
What ultimately sealed the deal for DJ was the family behind The Warehouses, who have worked with J.AR Office, led by Jared Webb, to bring the beautiful mixed-use space to life.
But this time around, he was determined to do things differently. DJ didn’t want the ‘typical’ cafe model with high overheads and high stress. Instead, he’s opted for a simple offering of coffee, a short list of menu items and only a couple of staff members.
“It’s about under promising and over delivering,” DJ says of the space, which is purposefully understated and industrial in its appearance. There are a couple of two-seaters outside, a scattering of spaces to pull up a perch near the coffee machine, plus additional seating for roughly 40 sippers upstairs on the mezzanine which is lined with communal tables. Then there’s the hidden nooks and shared zones to be found around The Warehouses.
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It goes without saying that the coffee would be a key focus at Lobby. DJ has opted for Reuben Hills, a boutique roaster from Surry Hills.
When it came to creating the menu, DJ handed the reins over to Caitlin, who worked with him at Good Day, with the cryptic brief of “a jaffle that pleases most and one you can’t get anywhere else.” The result is one featuring ham, onion relish and comte alongside a curried eggplant served with a dollop of house-made labneh. Rounding out the succinct menu is roasted baby tomatoes with marscapone and pickled eschallots on sourdough, cookies that are made in house as well as pastries from the nearby The Bread Social.
“We just didn’t want to be the place doing bacon and eggs,” DJ says of the minimalist menu. And so far, it’s been well received with the tight-knit Currumbin community quick to embrace the new nook, which is springing to life on Currumbin Creek Road.
Lobby is now open – head to the Directory for opening times and days.