Bay Espresso opens new roastery in central Hastings

Bay Espresso roastery opened their new roastery in Hastings on Wednesday night. Photo / Paul Taylor

Coffee enthusiasts have a new spot to try in Hawke's Bay, following the opening of the new Bay Espresso roastery in Hastings.

The 16-year-old business added a fifth site to their portfolio, with the official opening of the Ellison Rd site on Wednesday night.

Bay Espresso owner Jonelle Jarvis said like many other food and drink establishments, the company was forced to close their existing four cafes during lockdown, leading to worries about the future of the business.

"Lockdown was stressful being told with three days' notice that we had to shut down our businesses - we had no idea when we were going to reopen and start earning again," she said.

"We really thought our old business could be finished forever, but we battled our demons and decided to make good of a bad situation."

As Bay Espresso doesn't supply their produce to supermarkets, they were not initially deemed an essential service. But after a couple of weeks, began selling their coffee online.

Jarvis said reopening under alert level 3 under an entirely new business model was difficult.

"We had to rethink our whole business - how could we sell to people online or through delivery app. And the rules were changing every few days."

While unable to reach the sales figures of having four sites open to the public, Bay Espresso were able to sell their products online locally and across New Zealand.

"This didn't cover all the bills, but mentally it helped us get through. Our internet sales went through the roof and luckily we've kept a lot of those new internet customers."

Jarvis said the new roastery is one for coffee purists, with the ability to watch the making process and ask questions about what they're drinking.

"This place will be more for the coffee enthusiast - the cafes are busy and it's hard to talk about the coffee; even the farmers market has got so hectic it's hard to educate people about our coffee."

The opening will allow the growing business to offer coffee workshops, training and cupping experiences.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst cut the ribbon at the roastery's grand opening. Hazlehurst.

Hazlehurst said the opening signals the hard work put in by Chris and Jonelle Jarvis, despite the challenges, uncertainty and interruptions caused by Covid-19.

"Bay Espresso is a much loved coffee brand across our region and it will be wonderful to have them closer in the CBD, which is attracting a lot of investment around the exciting arts, events and hospitality happenings in the city," she said.

The roastery also has an espresso bar on site with takeaway coffees available.

While not alone in Hastings CBD, the new coffee venture is one that Jarvis hopes creates a buzz around the district.

"Central Hastings made sense to us - we wanted to be part of the community, rather than out in a back unit, out of town," she said.

"It's a big project, like moving house, but we finally had time to plan it out. We wanted to move forward this year - yes we've taken a big knock to our profitability, but if you just sit around and feel sorry for yourself, everything seems worse."