A brand-new coffee shop has arrived in Shepparton.
Kyle and Sarah-Jane Bartlett are the proud owners of 7 Beans, a coffee store that focuses on “good quality coffee, great service, and something you’re going to enjoy”.
The Shepparton store is the latest edition of the 7 Beans brand, with three other outlets in Echuca, Kyabram and Rochester.
Mr Bartlett’s coffee journey began when he ran a 50-seater café for about eight years.
Then, he and his wife opened the first 7 Beans store in Kyabram during the COVID-19 pandemic, which proved to be a blessing in disguise when they unlocked a new market.
“(COVID) actually worked in our favour because we were just a coffee shop, so I didn’t have to employ any chefs or anything like that,” he said.
“People would come in to grab a coffee while they took their dogs for a walk.
“I sort of hit a new market there and thought, why am I doing food?
“They really just wanted quick, fast, good, reliable coffee.”
Mr Bartlett said it was nice to bring high-quality coffee and service to country towns.
“(In Melbourne) there’s just cafés everywhere. Cafés, coffee shops, anywhere you go, you just smell coffee,” he said.
“I was born in Echuca, but I moved away when I was really young to Melbourne, so I’ve sort of brought a bit of Melbourne back with me.”
Mr Bartlett said a partnership with the Campos coffee brand had contributed to the success of 7 Beans.
“The Campos brand is what kick-started us for sure,” he said.
“They’re one of Australia’s best coffees, and we really love what they do.”
Online orders are also increasingly becoming a big part of the takeaway coffee market, with 7 Beans opting to use the platform Skip.
“We do a lot of online orders, so people can just order online, park out the front, run in, grab their coffee and go,” Mr Bartlett said.
Mr Bartlett and his wife bought the Shepparton property in November 2023, and three months later, the doors are now open.
“We had a look at a few buildings around the place, but I fell in love with this one the minute I saw it,” he said.
“This one’s probably three or four times bigger than all of our other stores, so it was a bigger renovation.”
The new 7 Beans store is open from 7am to 2pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on weekends at 170 Corio St, Shepparton. However, there’s room for change.
“Depending on what Shepparton customers want, we’re open to adjusting our hours to suit their needs,” Mr Bartlett said.
Eventually, he wants to open seven 7 Beans stores, keeping true to the name of the small chain. However, he said the current focus was on getting the Shepparton store up and running.
“We’re really excited for the community of Shepparton to come and try our coffee,” he said.