Located in the unassuming Mount Waverley shopping precinct, Son of Tucci is pioneering the growth of specialty coffee in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
With years of hospitality experience under their belt and running through their veins, the Crea family discovered a niche in the specialty coffee industry, and thought “why not bring it to the burbs?”.
So, in March 2015, siblings Massimo, Fabian and Romina Crea opened Son of Tucci in Mount Waverley. They knew the area and the demographics really well so it was a no brainer for them.
At Son of Tucci, they’re all about quality and have invested significantly in creating a specialty coffee offering to rival the best of the best.
The house blend is Veneziano Coffee Roasters’ seasonal blend, Bond St which regularly changes in line with seasonality and fresh crops. They also serve batch brewed coffee which is currently the washed Kenya Kiawamururu from Veneziano’s microlot schedule, and a rotating single origin program.
The team at Son of Tucci love nothing more than exploring the world that is specialty coffee and sharing their knowledge with their customers. Single origins and filter coffee is a relatively new sensation in the suburbs, so sharing the story behind the coffee and leaving their customers feeling inspired is really important.
But it’s not all about coffee. Food plays a large role in the success of Son of Tucci. Their menu is largely focused on the most important meal of the day, breakfast, with a few substantial lunch options to round out the menu. But what takes the cake, quite literally, are the cakes and sweets that are baked in house and fresh each day by none other than mother Crea, Franca. Franca is well known for her large array of cakes inspired by home-cooked, comfort food. It’s pretty hard to stop by for a coffee without a slice of one of these decadent delights.
As hospitality professionals and ambassadors of specialty coffee Fabian has this advice for budding café owners: “Keep the fundamentals the same and focus on quality and never settle on what you have to ensure ongoing growth, it’s all about evolving”. He also believes that the customer is an essential ingredient in the success of any café. He says “Take a hands on approach to find out who your customers are and work hard to form rapport with them. Creating an environment that customers feel confident in is critical in facilitating repeat business”
