From postmaster to roast master: heritage post office wins over tiny NSW town

Locals and tourists sit among the oversized hessian bags of coffee beans to consume their caffeinated beverages. And more often than not, patrons leave with a kilo bag of beans under their arm, aptly named the Post Master’s Blend, roasted on-site by Gary himself.

But when Gary first blew in from out of town and began overhauling the building and the business, which was formerly run as a post office and newsagent, not everyone was happy.

One way he won the locals over was through art. With the renovated space now lending itself to a gallery, Gary and local artist Susan Kinneally collaborated to launch Art Post Uki. Local artisans display and sell their wares, and 40 exhibitions later, they have collectively earned themselves more than $70,000.

“That is something we’re really, really proud about,” Gary said. “We’ve become not only the post office, but the art gallery, and the espresso bar. We’ve created something that’s exciting for the little village to do.”

You won’t find Gary’s artworks on the walls though. “Me? I can’t even draw a stick figure,” he laughed.

He may be no artist, but he does know a thing or two about coffee. After he left his corporate job in TV marketing for Foxtel and Channel 7, Gary embarked on an MBA at Bond University. While studying, he worked on the side selling coffee machines at Harvey Norman.

“That is what actually started my love for coffee,” he said. I thought, there’s a gap in the market for something fun, for something really experiential.

“When I graduated from the MBA, I didn’t want to go back into the corporate life again. I think I have paid my dues with 15 years of that.”

Instead, Gary purchased 1464 Kyogle Road, Uki, and enrolled in barista and roasting courses, as well as hiring coffee consultant, Glenn Anthony.

“I’ve always believed in learning from the best and doing it once, doing it right,” he said.

“Glenn taught me over an 18-month period, so I have done my apprenticeship.”

Now, Gary said he’s hard pressed to find a coffee better than one served at Bastion Lane. His go to? The quintessential double shot flat white.

“Our coffee is all hand roasted in small batches, so we have much more control over the consistency and quality of it,” he said.

“Our main blend, the Postmaster’s blend, has a really beautiful caramel taste with hazelnut notes. It has a great body to it with a delicate finish.”

Or perhaps the coffee tastes so good because of the surrounds it’s consumed in. Prior to Gary purchasing the building and business in 2017, the post office was in disrepair and cluttered with Australia Post product lines and newsagent stock. Some items had been gathering dust for more than 25 years, and there was only 50 centimetres of bench space available for customers. 

Half a million dollars later, the shop is now wheelchair accessible, there is more bench space, more shelves for stock and it boasts a chic espresso bar. 

“We basically had to repair or replace the complete eastern side of the building,” Gary explained. “We did a lot of restumping underneath. The front of the building was eaten out by white ants back in the ’70s and was just left dormant. The actual girders or the joist that hold the floor up, they were rotting away because they were just basically built into the dirt.”

A fresh coat of paint, some new PO boxes, a shiny coffee machine and bright pink roaster imported from the US completed the post-office-come-roast-office, all while respecting the protected heritage aspects.

Gary admitted he’s come a long way from that first day he picked up the keys and took possession of the Uki post office.

“I remember thinking, ‘oh my God, what have I done? This is crazy’. But I think the naivety kicked in … naivety is a beautiful thing. You’re forced to do things differently than everybody else.