Brisbane-based Merlo Coffee has opened the curtains on a new $5 million HQ at Eagle Farm that will significantly boost its production and storage capacity.
The coffee company redeveloped an existing building on the Fison Avenue East site and is also constructing a new warehouse to accommodate its expanding business.
Merlo started out as a small espresso bar in the Brisbane CBD in 1992, and now supplies more than 1500 cafes and restaurants across Australia, plus thousands of online customers.
A new roaster will also be installed at the Eagle Farm complex, enabling Merlo to triple its roasting output.
“There has been a huge increase in people buying coffee online to enjoy at home. We are now filling a couple of hundred online orders a day, while taking on more wholesale customers at the same time.” Merlo Coffee CEO James Wilkinson said.
“That will take up to two years to be installed so, in the meantime, we’ll continue roasting at Bowen Hills, along with operating the existing café.”
“Eventually, we’ll be able to roast up to 100 tonnes of beans each week with the new larger machine working in conjunction with our existing roaster.”
Merlo plans open a café within the Eagle Farm complex and sell beans, food and coffee to cater to the large business community that is now in that area. The new Eagle Farm facility is expected to open by the end of October.
The company’s first torrefazione (Italian roasting house) opened in 1996 and Wilkinson began working at Merlo in 1999 in the packing department.
“It’s been a great journey so far but there’s plenty more ahead,” Wilkinson said.
