The Botanica team delivers simple pleasures to Red Hill with Brolly Coffee
More than a decade after launching Botanica on Enoggera Terrace, Alison and Brett Hutley are deepening their Red Hill ties with a brand-new caffeine outpost. Brolly Coffee brings a fresh, light-filled energy to the suburban pocket, serving Single O brew, Sprout pastries and house-made cinnamon scrolls. It’s a small but considered neighbourhood stop, built for locals who know a good cup when they taste one …
Alison and Brett Hutley’s relationship with Red Hill goes back a long way – more than 12 years, in fact.
When the couple opened Botanica’s very first salad bar on Enoggera Terrace, they were locals – their commute was a short walk from down the street.
“When we moved back to Brisbane from Sydney to open Botanica, we leased a house just two doors down the road,” recalls Alison. “For the first 12 months, this was our up and back.”
As Alison and Brett’s family grew (both their literal family and their Botanica brood), the Hutley’s moved house – but Red Hill remained an area very close to their hearts.
Late last month, the duo found themselves back on Enoggera Terrace, this time to open a brand-new coffee spot just two doors down from Botanica’s flagship. Brolly Coffee, located in the space formerly home to chocolate shop Couverture & Co., is a grab-and-go dispensary pitched towards locals on the move.
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The move sees the Hutley’s dipping their toes back into the cafe realm, following the sale of their Teneriffe caffeinery Greenhaus Coffee (now owned and operated by former staff member Declan Gamack).
“We didn’t have a plan when we sold Greenhaus to look for another site, but we absolutely never ruled it out because it’s such a fun business to have,” says Alison.
“When we launched [Botanica] 13 years ago, we didn’t launch with a vision of opening five locations across Brisbane. Coming back to start something else new again is a nice full-circle moment.”
The building’s former guise has been replaced by a bright aesthetic featuring terracotta tiling, rendered concrete and blonde timber furnishings. The blinds covering the windows have been removed to let in more light, while the big solid black door has been exchanged in favour of a glass one. Though seating is limited, a few spots are available for those eager to take a load off.
“We definitely wanted it to be a community coffee shop that people would come to every day,” says Alison. “We wanted it to be that when you stepped inside off this busy road that you immediately felt like you’d been transported to someplace else – even if you’re here for five minutes.”
Brolly Coffee is using beans from Single O, with caffeine available alongside iced matchas. The venue’s food menu is concise, with a clutch of pastries from Sprout Artisan Bakery available alongside house-made brownies, biscuits, breakfast pots and, on weekends, fresh-from-the-oven cinnamon scrolls.
“It was really important to us that if we were going to do something very simple, that everything had to be as good as it could be – and that pertains to the fit-out, to the coffee and to the staff,” says Alison.
“We just wanted simplicity, but everything to be done in a bespoke way – not ostentatious, but clearly deliberate and with intention.”
At its core, Brolly Coffee is the kind of coffee spot that Alison and Brett not only think Red Hill needs, but also deserves.
“The community around here – in Red Hill, Ashgrove and Paddington – is just amazing,” says Brett. “We’ve had a lot of requests from our customers asking for coffee, but there’s just no room [at Botanica].”
“We wanted to make something really nice for all the people who have made the last 13 years so great for us,” adds Alison. “We don’t want [Brolly] to be a big viral hit, we want to just be the same as Botanica. We want to be part of people’s daily routines and for it to be that little highlight that they look forward to.”
Brolly Coffee is now open to the public – head to The Directory for more details.