In a heritage setting in a historic Sydney arcade, Gumption coffee is a tranquil respite from the city rush
The elegant and upmarket Strand Arcade in Sydney has long been home to boutique and artisan businesses so it made perfect sense, then, for Coffee Alchemy, the famed Marrickville café and coffee roaster, to expand its business and open another site, Gumption by Coffee Alchemy, within The Strand’s historical walls.
Coffee is king at Gumption Coffee, with the small space a popular stop-off for those on their way to work or looking for a moment of escape from desk life. Here you’ll find coffee, and only coffee. But what coffee it is!
Co-owner Hazel de los Reyes has brought the same Gumption creative spirit from Coffee Alchemy roastery and cafe in the inner-west suburb of Marrickville to the Strand Arcade in Sydney’s CBD with Gumption, serving coffees for the morning commute through the city.
Hazel has a lifelong passion for coffee, first encouraged growing on her grandmother’s farm in the Philippines where her family picked cherries from the single coffee tree, dried and roasted them themselves. She was a seasoned coffee drinker from a young age and developed a passion to perfect the perfect brew.
“Passion doesn’t necessarily make you an artisan,” she says. “I think it’s more about mastery and skill. It’s about developing your own craft to produce something wonderful, and when you are curious about something, you can eventually achieve that outcome.”
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Almost every item at Gumption coffee is handcrafted by artisans who make their living from doing just one thing, and doing it well. Just like the baristas and their coffee at Gumption. From the hand-spun brass wall lighting, to the floor-to-ceiling leadlight window, every item has a story and it all fits perfectly with the surroundings of the Strand Arcade.
As Hazel notes, “The Strand Arcade was built during the height of the Arts and Crafts movement, which followed a philosophy of bringing together like-minded artisans focussed on honouring the essence of their objects, and the Arcade still respects that sentiment today. That’s what we do with our coffee too; it’s a craft to us.”
The Strand is the perfect location to focus on the communication of coffee, rather than all the confusing jargon involved in coffee culture.
It was the history and heritage of The Strand that appealed to the artisan focus of the Coffee Alchemy brand, but with the cafe, it’s not about replicating the old ideas that brought them success in Marrickville, the focus here is on new ideas and a new direction.
The interiors are by Smith and Carmody. It’s a beautiful space, almost oasis-like amid the hustle and bustle of the CBD, with light streaming in through the glass ceiling above. It’s a small, espresso-bar like space, compared to larger cafes, but modern tables with bench seating out in the arcade itself provide plenty of room for sipping and people watching.
Gumption coffee is located on the ground floor of The Strand; simply follow your nose and you’ll find it.
Gumption by Coffee Alchemy, Shop 11, G 412-414 George St, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Open Mon -Fri 8.30am – 5.00pm, Sat 9.00am – 4.15pm and Sun 11.00am – 3.45pm.
