RIVVIA PROJECTS and CRUMB make The Junction home
What started as a temporary collaboration between RIVVIA PROJECTS and pastry favourite CRUMB is about to become a permanent fixture in The Junction.
Professional surfers Julian Wilson and Ryan Callinan are teaming up with Ben Richardson to open RIVVIA PROJECTS’ first flagship store on October 3 – and if you dropped into the RIVVIA - CRUMB pop-up earlier this year, expect things to look a little different.
The collaboration has plenty of Newcastle ties. Ryan was born and bred here, while Julian now calls the city home with his family and launched RIVVIA PROJECTS in Newcastle.
Ben’s connection with the pair goes back much further than the Junction pop-up. Having known each other for years, the conversation around bringing CRUMB into the RIVVIA space came pretty naturally.
The first conversations may not have eventuated into a partnership, but when the timing lined up, the temporary Junction pop-up gave both businesses a chance to test the idea without jumping straight into something permanent.
And the test not only worked – it exceeded all of their expectations.
For Ben, one of the biggest surprises was discovering an entirely new CRUMB crowd in The Junction without seeing customers drop away from the Lambton location – making the decision to stick around an easy one.
“I hadn't planned on expanding so soon, but it happened naturally and it was a good opportunity. The pop-up was a really good test for us.”
For regulars to CRUMB you may also notice a new face in the kitchen, with Head Chef Minsu joining the team from Bam Bam Bakehouse on the Gold Coast.
For RIVVIA, which spans surf, street and golf, the pop-up also gave the team a chance to see what happens when retail, coffee, and pastries all share the same address.
“The pop-up with CRUMB showed us how naturally the two brands could exist together and how much people connected with the space. We knew pretty quickly that we wanted to make it permanent,” Julian said.
Local practice After Dark Design has been brought in to rework the space, including opening up the building’s facade to the street and creating a larger retail area.
The renovation will give the cafe a more permanent feel, opening the frontage onto the street and adding outdoor seating so you can grab a coffee and pastry and settle in rather than simply passing through.
For RIVVIA, that means more room to bring together its surf, street, and golf collections, alongside new product categories, in-store exclusives, and future collaborations.
It’s the same RIVVIA-meets-CRUMB formula we got a taster for earlier this year, only this time they’re not going anywhere.
Header shot image credit: Bosko
