At the Brunswick East end of Melbourne’s beloved Lygon St, CATALOGUE has spent the past year carving out its distinct character in Melbourne’s coffee community. Built around curiosity, conversation and a carefully curated coffee offering of rotating roasters, the café invites guests to explore a new coffee with every visit.
Market Lane Coffee anchors the house espresso offering, while Small Batch Roasting Co is proudly on house filter. Alongside these Melbourne roasters you’ll find some beans grown and roasted from places all over the world. These unique coffees are meticulously chosen and frequently rotated, featuring national and international roasters, so there’s always something new to try. You’ll find these coffees on the brew bar, with the craft happening right in front of you, and the retail shelf to keep you stocked up at home.
Currently, you can enjoy some exceptional roasts from our friends Kindred Coffee in Adelaide, Headlands Coffee from Sydney and Morgon Coffee Roasters, hailing from Sweden.
At the centre of the bar is a two group Modbar, creating an open, connected experience that puts people first.
We caught up with owner Luke Wilcock to tell us about opening his coffee shop, CATALOGUE.
Congratulations on CATALOGUE’s first birthday! How did the idea for the shop first come about?
Thanks! The store’s concept stemmed from two motivations. First, wanting to share something passionately, day after day, with great satisfaction; and secondly, offering a constantly changing selection of coffee that excites us and our customers.
Your coffee program features a rotating selection of roasters, while Market Lane Coffee anchors the espresso offering. Tell us more about the catalogue you’ve curated and what it offers to customers?
We use Market Lane Coffee as our house espresso option (including milk drinks) and Small Batch Roasting Co as our house filter option. Both provide quality and reliability, allowing regulars to order something familiar every time. The “catalogue” is where there is rotation – new guest roasters are constantly added to the retail shelves and brew bar. Customers can choose from a wide range of coffees, with the intention of finding a coffee for their specific taste. There’s always a carefully balanced selection of roasters, origins, processing methods and taste profiles.
You chose Modbar (excellent choice). What made it the right fit for the space and the experience?
For us, Modbar was about the communicability it provided. Aesthetically, it’s a talking point, of course. But the Modbar’s real value is how it removes the barrier between the customer and the server.
Opening a coffee shop is never straightforward. What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned during the first year of CATALOGUE?
Opening a venue always involves complications, depending on the situation. But for us, it was about sticking to the concept, maintaining our drive, and tweaking things where improvement was possible.
What do you love most about your Brunswick East community?
The Brunswick East community is incredible. It’s very diverse, friendly, and inclusive. We’ve felt at home since day one.
What coffee are you reaching for most often right now, and what are you enjoying about it?
At the moment there seems to be a lot of good coffee coming out of Peru, so that’s what I’m currently enjoying. But generally I’ll always reach for something clean, a washed Colombian or Ethiopian for example.
Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for CATALOGUE?
We’re unsure about our future plans at this stage, as it’s such a tricky time for small operators. But we’re always on the lookout for opportunities. What is certain is that another CATALOGUE won’t happen in its current form; any future expansion will be a different iteration, or a separate entity entirely, to keep it fresh.
One year in, CATALOGUE continues to prove that thoughtful hospitality, great coffee and genuine connection never go out of style. Whether you’re dropping in for a familiar espresso or discovering something new on the brew bar, every visit offers a reason to come back. If you’re in Brunswick East, be sure to pop in for a visit.
Find CATALOGUE at:
1/36 Lygon St, Brunswick East VIC 3057
@cataloguemelb
