(Rival) Brothers, Jeno and Toby, are passionate coffee lovers. You might have seen their vans out and about or visited their café and roastery on Port Road.
Rival Brothers shared with us some of their experiences and learnings from their first year at their Cheltenham location.
Humble Beginnings
The Rival Brothers journey began in Seaton, roasting coffee at Jeno’s home in 2018. During his extensive barista experience in a coffee shop, he also learnt how to roast coffee. When his brother Toby returned to Adelaide from interstate, his entrepreneurial spirit was the missing ingredient to create Rival Brothers Coffee Roasters.
The name ‘Rival Brothers’ is a clever play on the two brothers’ two different styles which are constantly in rival.
The brothers, originally from the Riverland, are passionate about all things coffee, family, friends, football, and the great outdoors.
The Perfect Cup of Joe
Rival Brothers is a boutique roastery, handcrafted in small batches to highlight and maintain the character of their beans. Their beans are fair trade and sustainably sourced from a local Australian company.
Currently they offer a selection of custom, house roasted blends and season single origin beans, that can be purchased from the café and online.
Van Life and Beyond
In 2019, along came their first retro vintage van. In January 2020 they officially launched regular visits to John Miller Reserve in Somerton Park. You can currently find Rival Brothers serving barista coffee there Wednesday to Sunday.
The next addition to the crew was their 12ft white retro coffee van, which allowed the brothers to take on more events and opportunities. The vans can now be hired out as a mobile drinks station for celebrations, weddings, events, or corporate functions.
New Digs
With the two vans, space became a problem and in March 2021 they signed a lease for their Cheltenham location. They were approved by council by June and then underwent a three-month fit out, giving new life to what was previously a sign shop and office.
Their café and roastery is a relaxed coffeehouse offering all day breakfast and lunch options and other beverages such as milkshakes and smoothies. The chilled warehouse space features indoor and outdoor seating but is still big on take-away coffee orders (which you can order in advance by text).
Success and Learnings
After speaking with the team, their first year of a permanent location, post-pandemic has been a success. This can be attributed to their blend of the right location, diversification of offerings, and culture.
“Our staff culture has made us successful”, says Danielle Bacskai of Rival Brothers. “Our Google reviews always positively mention our staff.”
Their location on Port Road is very accessible for locals and commuters. Locals love to bring their pets and the space is also very pram-friendly. The ease of the carparking at their location and trading hours covering 7 days a week, from 6am most days (except Sundays at 7:30am), has been received very well from the local community. The café and roastery team also service coffee and catering for the neighbouring car yards and businesses.
Rival Brothers are also featured on the Shop Local SA online marketplace, along with other local City of Charles Sturt businesses, to expand their online sales. You can access this marketplace here.
“We didn’t have internal marketing expertise, so we are super excited to be able to collaborate with Shop Local SA, to support us to increase our brand awareness, promote sustainability, reach more customers, and share quality coffee,” says Danielle.
You can find Rival Brothers at 953 Port Road, Cheltenham, 5014. Alternatively you can visit their website and shop their beans online here.
Jeno and Toby accessed our Business Support Program to receive marketing expertise and list on South Australian online marketplace, Shop Local SA.
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Emma Grivell
Business Engagement Advisor - Urban Projects
E: egrivell@charlessturt.sa.gov.au