Pro surfer turned coffee connoisseur.
Pro surfer turned coffee connoisseur.
He’s the local lad best known for his pro surfer status but Mitch Crews is a guy with his fingers in a few pies. Strange saying that one but let’s move on.
Recently he, along with his mum and sister, opened West Brew Coffee in Tweed Heads, bringing their passion for beans to the quality-coffee-starved southern folks.
We sat down for a chat with Mitch about caffeine, living the salty life and qualifying for the 2018 World Series.
How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
I moved up here when I was about 14 with my family and I’m 28 this year so awhile. I was born on the Sunny Coast but I’ve been in Currumbin ever since.
What do you love most about living here?
For me obviously being a surfer, the good waves, the warm weather, I think the Coast pretty much has everything you need in terms of living a quality lifestyle. You’ve got the great beaches, the awesome hinterland and a great nightlife and café culture developing now. You can’t really beat that. I’m fortunate enough to travel a lot through what I do but coming home, I feel like this is the best place I could live.
How’d you go in the Burleigh Pro on the weekend?
I got quarters so I guess that’s fifth. It was good fun, I was a bit disappointed I didn’t go further but it’s all good. For the past few years, the conditions haven’t been that good but this year was one of the better years. It’s a great event, I’m glad they have it, it’s always a bit of fun.
How did this pro surfing thing come about for you?
I started doing it when I was 10 but nothing was ever really planned. I surfed every day, mornings before school and after school and slowly but surely it evolved into competing then I got noticed by brands and sponsored and it just sort of happened. I’ve been really fortunate.
You had a massive set back a couple of years ago; can you tell us about that?
In 2009 I was 19 and had some really bad pain in my lower back, swelling that kind of came up abruptly in my wrists and ankles, it was really strange. I thought I’d injured myself but in the end I was diagnosed with a type of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is inflammation in the spine and sacrum. It was a bit of a shock because obviously I need to use my body to do what I do. It was strange to go through that journey of figuring out how to fix it but I got on a good routine and found a way to combat it. That was eight years ago now and I went on to a have pretty successful career after that so it was a blessing in disguise really. At first the doctors said I wouldn’t be surfing and I don’t think they realised the magnitude of what that meant to me, which was everything. I was pretty determined to prove that wrong. It took about six months but I did the last year of the junior series and ended up winning that year. It was a really cool, eye-opening experience.
How did it change your approach to surfing and life in general?
I’ve always looked after myself, I’m into holistic lifestyle training so it just opened my perspective a bit more and taught me not take things for granted so much. Obviously when you’re in your early twenties you want to go out and carry on with everyone but it made me a bit more mindful of the bigger picture and being able to do whatever I want to do every day, which is surf.
What do you get up to around here when there’s no waves?
I recently opened a coffee shop with my mum and sister so that little side project has been keeping me busy. I like to go out to the hinterland and shut off every now and then. I think that’s really important right now, everyone’s so wound up so it’s good to go chill. I do travel a lot as well but it’s looking like I’m going to be around home a bit longer than usual early this year so I’m stoked about that.
Tell us about West Brew Coffee…
I’ve always loved the coffee culture and when I’m not surfing I spend most of my time around cafes drinking coffee with friends. An opportunity came up where a little space down in Tweed West was available and I thought it would be nice to bring the coffee culture to that area. I don’t really have the experience in hospitality but my sister and mum were very passionate about getting involved. I’m good friends with Nick Pearce at Blackboard so I decided to open up a little coffee shop. We’ve had a great response from the local community and everyone’s really excited. Also with KC opening Hymn down the road, I think it’s brought a lot of attention to the area now. It’s so beautiful down there and it hasn’t really been recognised. In Tweed West there’s some of the most beautiful waterfront property you can get and I think it’s got lots of potential to be a nice new suburb for young families to move down too. It’s been an awesome experience, I’m learning every day about coffee and what people want.
Most importantly, what kind of food can we eat there?
We do a small breakfast menu, we’ve got this Brew Muesli dish, it’s got coconut cream, with Paleo activated muesli rather than your stock standard that’s everywhere else. Basically the philosophy we’re trying to go by is supporting local farmers surrounding the area so like Piggabeen, Murwillumbah, Kingscliff and we’re trying to use organic produce where we can. I’m a really big believer in supporting local. I got to meet some farmers from around the area who are doing it all the right ways, all organic and it’s really cool to see. They’re doing business the old way but they’re really passionate about their products and it gets me so psyched.
What’s the plan for 2018?
This is the first year that I don’t have everything fully structured. I’m going to a few of the Qualifying Series events so I’ll be jetting off the Japan and South Africa just before June. I’m doing a bit more free surfing stuff, maybe some video projects for magazines. No real huge goal for the World Tour but the next month has a bunch of Australian events that I’m doing so that’ll dictate if I’m going to have a good hard slog at the QS. It’s exciting, I’m so fortunate to get to do what I do and being involved with the coffee shop is really exciting, I’ve found this new passion.
Got any life advice for us?
I definitely live every day to it’s fullest. I believe you’ve only got the one moment to shine so there’s no use in taking the safe road.
Your favourites on the Coast…
Surf break: I’m into Burleigh at the moment; my last few surfs there have been really fun
Café: Obviously West Brew but I live in Tugun at the moment so I do regular Good Day coffee a lot
Restaurant: I like The Collective, I think what’s happening in Palmy right now is awesome. I like baskk in Kirra and Justin Lane is always fun
How does your weekend usually look: Over the holidays I found myself going to all the places I just listed a bit but recently it’s just been surfing a lot because the waves have been really good. I’ll usually hit Currumbin Markets on a Saturday morning then no doubt surf, hang out at my house and have a few mellow beers in the afternoon, nothing too complex
Photos 2 and 5 via Surfing Queensland.
It is with happy tears and overly energetic typing fingers we bring you the news that Tweed Heads has jumped on the quality coffee/tasty eats/cool new venue bandwagon and you may as well pack your bags and move because things are heating up down there friends.
Hymn Coffee opened recently and it’s all glossy white tiles, raw concrete, plants aplenty and light fittings we would have stolen if no-one was looking (and stealing wasn’t illegal, obviously).
The thing that will catch your well-trained, interior appreciating eye though, isn’t a thing at all but a rather large, dried flower installation fixed to the ceiling. It’s a creative collaboration of the prettiest kind between co-owner Kelly and your fave curators of all the beautiful things, Gather Store (so you know it’s good).
The faces of Kelly and her partner KC are ones you may recognise from Palmy local Barefoot Barista. Mid last year the pair decided to go out on their own, then birthed a wee babe and opened Hymn Coffee (because two babies are better than one, right).
The menu is filled with dishes inspired by Kelly, and Head Chef Andy’s, New Zealand roots and feature familiar favourites with a refreshing twist.
For instance, the Hawker Roll is a fun (and DELICIOUS) take on the bacon and egg roll but with roti instead of a boring old bread roll. How good is roti. With the added goodness of Mum’s apple sauce, crispy onions and CONDENSED MILK MAYO, we’ve got ourselves a winner.
If heavenly bacon and egg dishes aren’t your thing (check yourself), go for the Fruit and Nut which features watermelon, little bananas, strawberries, cacao granola, whipped raw honey yoghurt, almond milk and basil. Fruity fresh.
Everything is made with seasonal, locally sourced produce and the menu will change as it sees fit.
Coffee beans are a blend called Orthodox from Melbourne coffee Gods St. ALi and is it just us or is there a theme here.
Because we love a good theme, here’s the punch line.
All your coffee drinking, epic food eating prayers have been answered, Tweed Heads.
Go now.
LOCATION: Shop 2, 99 Kennedy Drive, Tweed Heads
HOURS: 6am until 2pm every day
Words and photos by Kirra Smith.
Two of the most passionate people in the local hospo industry, Mitch and Nerissa are the brains behind two of your favourites – Commune, in Burleigh, and Etsu, in Mermaid Beach. The pair, who might just be the busiest (and happiest) couple on the Coast, are now on the verge of opening a third venue.
We sat down with Mitch and Nerissa to chat about the new yakitori restaurant and building a late night bar-hopping scene in Burleigh.
How long have you been Gold Coast locals?
Mitch: We were both born here. Next week it’ll be 39 years for me. Nerissa’s moved away a couple of times. We met in the hospitality industry out at Varsity Lakes then Nerissa moved away to the snow and I started managing Bumbles in Budds Beach. When she got back, we got in contact again and started working together.
What do you love about the Coast?
Nerissa: I’ve tried to move away a couple of times but it’s just nice, easy, healthy living here. I love being able to walk around with no shoes on. I quite often walk from our house along the beach and to Commune and you can’t do that in Melbourne and Sydney or most other places. It’s just nice, it’s our home and we know everyone, people from school. The people here are happy and you really get to see that, especially in the café, we love building relationships. In the city, it’s so different.
How do you come up with such different concepts for each venue?
We build restaurants we love and that we know our community will love. Because we were born here, we want to give back to our mates around the Coast. You just have to wait for that perfect storm – the right idea, the right time and finding the right venue. We weren’t looking to open a place but we were sick of our jobs and thought this location (Commune) would be perfect and we were just ready to do it. Then with Etsu, which has been open a few years, we knew we wanted to open a Japanese restaurant and that it would be all inside. I (Nerissa) love long, dark places and Mermaid was the perfect location for us. We have never forced anything, it just always works out.
Tell us about the new place you’re opening in Burleigh?
When we got back from Japan this year, all we ate was yakitori and everyone else seemed to be talking about it too. Yakitori means grilled chicken – the restaurants in Japan mostly just make dishes from all parts of the chicken – thighs, hearts, skin, liver, neck, inner thigh, everything and they all taste really different. It’s really sustainable using the whole chicken too. We’ll make a chicken liver pate and a chicken soup too. We’ll also definitely cater for the vegos and have some really amazing Wagyu for the boys too. There’ll be a couple of raw dishes, but it’s a really different menu to Etsu. We’re looking at opening early to mid October.
Have you got the fitout sorted?
It’ll be a bit similar to Etsu where you walk in and there’s a dining bar but we’ll have a kitchen dining bar. Everyone will sit around it and the chefs will be cooking right in front of you – we’re just going to focus on that as our main feature. We’re right next to Lockwood Bar so we’ve put a hole in the wall for back door access so we’re hoping to make a cool little late night bar hopping trade. We’ll also dedicate a little area to a small Japanese whiskey type bar, people can access that from another entrance or just sit down there if they’re waiting for a table. Dining-wise, people will sit on the floor with their legs crossed, which is how it’s done in Japan.
What are your thoughts on the Coast’s growing dining scene?
We go to Melbourne and Sydney just to check out restaurants but now the Gold Coast has so many new places opening we don’t need to. Even just in Burleigh there’s so many, tacocat just opened and all these new places are popping up everywhere. It means we can just ride our bikes to dinner, it’s so good. It’s the perfect time for us to be able to do what we want to do too with all these things opening, it gives us the freedom to get a bit more experimental. It means everyone’s more appreciative of our industry, which is really good. It works here now, where it wouldn’t have a few years ago.
It benefits us in so many ways too. It’s more attractive for people to come and live and work here. Finding good, professional staff and lots of them can be challenging, so having that pool of staff wanting to live here, especially chefs, is great. Even in terms of produce and suppliers, the bigger the industry grows, the more everyone has available. We can get our hands on more and better products. It keeps us on our toes too, if someone new opens, we have to get better. We’re constantly reevaluating what we’re doing. If you’re not growing, you’re going backwards.
What are the biggest challenges for you in the industry?
We find the hardest thing is staff – finding the right people for what we want to do and having them be as passionate as we are. We always find staff who want to open their own places, which works out really well for us because they’re super passionate and we encourage that. Our Head Chef at Etsu came from us advertising in Melbourne.
What’s the best piece of life advice you’ve ever received?
Mitch: We work hard and lead by example and that makes it all rewarding.
Nerissa: You should go to work and be excited, if you don’t love it, don’t do it. We love what we do and it doesn’t really seem like work, it’s just our lifestyle now.
Being Gold Coast locals, we have to ask your favourites…
Beach: Burleigh. Before we lived here we lived in Mermaid and loved it there too
Café: There’s a few, we love No Name Lane and we go to Alfred’s, down to All Time. There’s quite a few around now, Double Barrel Kitchen is cool. Elk is really good.
Restaurant: We love Rick Shores, sitting out in the sun is so good. The Lamb Shop, Glenelg Public House and Lupo just opened which is great.
Weekend hang: We ride our bikes around, Sunday arvos on the hill are always good.
