Café Biz Hobart– Panel Discussion: Learning from success

Will Priestley knows the realities of success in the café industry. Will’s name is known and respected in Tasmania, where he has earned a reputation as an innovator and leader. In 2010 he won the title of Australian Latte Art Champion, and rather than rest on his laurels he decided to return home to Hobart and open his own café.

Pilgrim Coffee opened in 2011 and took Hobart by storm with single origins from specialty roasters and bread from a local baker making old-fashioned wood fired products from flour ground at a local stone mill. The café has gone from strength to strength, and it has been the work behind the scenes that has brought success.

“People have to expect it to be tough,” Will says. “The reality is you will get put in a lot of situations where you have to make hard decisions and it sucks. But being in small business, you just have to do those things.

He wants people to walk away from Café Talk with an awareness of the realities of business. “What I’ve learnt is not to be disillusioned about how much has to be put in to achieve success.”