Archive for the ‘customers’ Category

Plastic Bottles – did you know?…

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Wow. The plastic bottles in our oceans issue really is so much worse than I thought it could be. I imagined bottles floating around that could simply be retrieved and cleaned up. Not so. Empty bottles sink, bottle tops float, wildlife feeds the plastic to their young, fish ingest the breaking down particles and the problem is considered to already be so bad that it may never be able to be cleaned up. Now usually I try to err on the side of positive news but I had to ask myself, ‘Am I contributing to this? Is Australia?’ At first I didn’t think so, but Urban Grind sells plastic bottles. We do sell one bottle made from BioPlastics that will compost, but that is only one of many otherwise plastic bottles that won’t break down anytime soon.

At Christmas we were in Byron Bay for the day. And I swear to you that I have never seen a plastic bottle left on the beach (I may not get to the beach enough though) but on the beach at Byron it was littered with bottles. Surely this is caused by tourists but after learning what I know now about the issue it is simply not cool for it to be happening. So bottles on the beach will make it to the ocean, and as they say, ‘All drains lead to the ocean’ so littering in any sense in not acceptable.

In the short TED video above you can get a well presented overview of the situation. So what am I going to do about it? Well, first things first, I need to personally stop buying plastic. I also plan to remove plastic bottles from our shops drinks fridge by first contacting the drink companies and asking them to watch the video and let me know their position, and inform them that I am considering removing them from my fridge should they decide not to explore glass, bioplastics, or some other way of taking responsibility for the problem. I will also be contact Byron Shire Council with the same video, etc.

Please note that Urban Grind for over 7 years has always placed 100% of our plastic waste in the recycling bin. Which means that in milk bottles alone we have placed into recycling about 25,000 2lt bottles of milk. So think of it this way. Urban Grind is a little coffee shop and can produce that much milk bottle waste. I have worked in places that did not recycle their milk bottles and I still hear it from new staff about their old places of work never recycling a single bottle. Please check with your local coffee shop and find out if they recycle, and if not encourage them to do so. We all need to be considering how we are contributing to the global problem, that actually doesn’t effect us so much because most of the plastic floats away from Australia – how convenient (that’s a pun).

Posted in ZeroWaste, alternative media, customers, design, environment, urban grind | No Comments »

Adam Sebastian West at Kiln

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Many Urban Grind customers probably know Adam Sebastian West as he has been hanging around for years. About 7 years now. He is a wonderful friend of mine and a great photographer. You can check out his photography on the Zenstick Website or this Friday night the 6th of March you can see his latest work as part of the Sea City Sky group exhibition at KILN Gallery. The show runs from the 6th – 29th of March. For more details check out www.kiln.com.au.

Posted in customers, friends, local community, personal | 1 Comment »

Parking Tips

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Parking in New Farm can be a bit tricky but there is more parking than you realise at first. Right on Brunswick St is actually when the best parking is. On the Urban Grind side of Brunswick St is when you will find the most parking. Just back towards the valley mall from Urban Grind there is parking for about 3 cars for 2 hours till 4pm. Also on Brunswick St in front of the IGA there is similar parking. But please do not park in the IGA car park unless you are shopping there. I do not advocate using their parking to visit Urban Grind New Farm. So I would try parking on Brunswick St before heading down Harcourt which can be much harder to find a park on. I hope this helps some people. See you soon.

Posted in customers, urban grind | No Comments »

What do consumers really want?

Friday, January 16th, 2009

This is an interesting little video. I have always hoped that it was understood that Urban Grind is trying to provide an experience beyond just a great cup of coffee, which when you think about it should be a given anyway. So if they coffee is supposed to be great as a basic rule, then what sets us apart from any other coffee shop with great coffee? That is the question that I design Urban Grind around. The answer has 2 parts – my theories and your perspective.

In the talk when Joseph mentions how it would be nice to check in to the ad as opposed to the actual hotel it reminds me of mobile phone companies and how if they would just do the right thing by you the first time they would need to lock you in with 2 year contracts because you would stay with them for a lifetime anyway. The idea of ‘real real’ makes me think of DiBella Coffee. They fit the idea of an authentic business in an almost text book fashion. Test for yourself. Watch the vid, then read the homepage of their website, then take it from me as one of their customers – they deliver that experience.

Posted in customers, inspiring, urban grind | 2 Comments »

Winner map readers choice awards

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

As you can see we did pretty well this year in the map readers choice awards. I am a big fan of map so it is very cool that map readers and everyone else I spammed with email took the time to vote for us. Thank you everyone that voted for us. I really do appreciate it. With so much email, sms, twitter, etc these days I am very grateful that you could still find some time for little old Urban Grind. See all the winners here for some great places to check out around Brisbane. This is like you good food dining guide to Brisbane for the next 12 months.

Posted in alternative media, customers, family, friends, local community, staff | No Comments »

Happy Holidays Xmas 08

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

So today was the first day of my 2 weeks holiday. Pancakes for breakfast and the beach for the rest of the day because my son has been asking us everyday for over a month. Rock climbing with mates at Boonah on the 24th and Xmas day with family then house sitting another mates place near Byron for a week. So excited. The downside of this though, might be for you. I am sorry if you are missing out on your coffee, but I have started to function like a toy with batteries that are running flat. I need to recharge big time.

Urban Grind will reopen on the 5th of Jan at 7am. I wish you all a happy and safe holiday period.

It has been a huge year for Urban Grind, the Urban Grind team and my family. We had to leave the Paddington community and miss them dearly. The last half of the year has been harder without your support, but we did what we felt was right. I had to say goodbye to one of Urban Grind’s best teams yet. Sophie, Candice, Amy, Karen & Shea, you were all outstanding and your now employers are very lucky. You became friends that I miss having in my life everyday. As did so many in Paddington become friends that we miss so much. Thank you to all of you.

Thank you to New Farm for embracing us. I don’t feel like we have quite built up the same community yet, but I am meeting some amazing and inspiring people and having fun. I look forward to more of that in the new year. Thank you for keeping Urban Grind alive.

And thank you to my friends who continue to visit me even if I never get the chance to visit them. Love you all.

Again, everyone have a happy and safe holiday period, and as we head into 09, which is likely to be a tough year for many, let us all remember that there is more to life than money. There is each other and the environment and both are going to need our attention.

Posted in customers, environment, family, friends, local community, urban grind | No Comments »

Biodiesel from used coffee grounds.

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

This is very interesting. Researchers are making biodiesel from used coffee grounds, which once used (again) can still be used for compost and (I didn’t know this) for fuel pellets. I so want to try making fuel pellets out of coffee grinds. Read more here: Coffee grounds for biodiesel

One of my customers once experimented with combining milk bottle plastic and used coffee grinds. It worked pretty well. There are resources all around us.

Posted in ZeroWaste, customers, environment, urban grind | No Comments »

Are you an Aussie Banksy?

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Painters, street artists and muralists – fancy yourself the Australian Banksy? Brisbane artists are invited to submit expressions of interest to participate in a temporary public art project at the iconic Gasworks site. Up to 20 artists will be selected to produce site-responsive works on the hoardings, along the high-profile Newstead street front. Street-smart painterly interventions, depictions of the historical Gasometer structure and surrounds, or your brilliant vision of the future of this vibrant community will earn you the chance to make your mark.

An artist fee of $200+GST will apply for each panel (approx 1.7×2.4m). Artists must be available to complete the work during the month of November. To be considered for this opportunity, please submit up to three indicative images of your work and a brief paragraph describing your relevant experience and concept for the site, to Wendy at em@artworkers.org Please indicate whether you are proposing work for one or more panels. The closing date for expressions of interest is Wednesday 5 November 2008.

Posted in art, customers, local community | 1 Comment »

Help us Win

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Last year Urban Grind was runner up to The 3 Monkeys for best coffee in Brisbane. This year we need your help to make sure that doesn’t happen again. It’s not that I don’t love The 3 Monkeys but I would rather we won that category. So if you do love your Urban Grind coffee please be kind enough to support us buy voting in the map village 2008/2009 Eat/Drink ‘best place’ awards.

We are actually nominated in 4 categories. Look for categories numbered 4, 7, 10 & 20. I guess we don’t have to win them all but it would be nice. Oh, and by entering you stand the chance to win something too. Click here to start voting now! Thanks heaps! Morgs.

Posted in customers, family, friends, local community, urban grind | 1 Comment »

Change to opening hours for Saturdays

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Hey all, just a quick note to let you know that we will be closing at 1pm on Saturdays from now on. Um that is all for now unless you want to talk about this.

Posted in General, customers, inspiring | No Comments »

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