A year after opening their first espresso bar, Wildflower, in Wallsend, Jack and Rianna Bingham have branched into Newcastle with the launch of a sister shop at The Station.

Wildflower City officially opened last weekend, with the pair shutting down at Wallsend for the day to celebrate the opening of their latest venture.The ambitious husband and wife team didn't plan to branch into another business so soon, but threw themselves into the project when the opportunity arose to submit a proposal to the state government to takeover the space.

"We definitely weren't looking to start another place," Rianna says. "We had just plateaued out from this steep learning curve with Wildflower and then we started to get to the place where we were like 'OK, are we going to buy a house, are we going to move the current Wildflower, are we going to start another one, are we going to start a family?

"We had these really big, but really different decisions, floating around but we were not ready to make a decision on it. Then I rang Jack and told him about this opportunity to do a proposal. It was like 'Oh. Oh, ok'.

"We kind of didn't think we would get it and then suddenly we were negotiating a contract. It was like 'OK, so we are doing this'. We jumped upon this moving idea and we had to make it happen."

The couple brought it all together in less time than the 100 days (which they documented on a blog) they allowed to create Wildflower at Wallsend.

They spent three weeks straight working into the night to get the space in shape for the opening, painting the walls and installing the fitout which Rianna describes as "an ode to Wallsend, but just a fancier version".

A baby pink coffee machine sits on the counter and there is a colourful wall mural done by Newcastle artist Kiasmin Burrell, who also created one at the Wallsend site, along with eclectic Gumtree finds such as a rustic custom-built table which provides the cafe's communal centrepiece.

There is outdoor seating as well and the couple hope the location will particularly appeal to families (tip: there's a new scooter track at The Station and an interactive replica train).

"People can bring their dogs and the kids can run around or use the scooter track. It's a relaxed area for families to come," Rianna says."That's the hope with the outdoor area."

Wildflower use Glee Coffee Roasters ("Their vision is coffee and people, so what they are about is so complementary to what we are about," Rianna says) and have kept the food offering simple, like they do at Wallsend.

The menu is short and sweet - toasties, bagels and banana bread. The type of stuff that goes hand-in-hand with coffee. Jack says they know they are taking a risk given the location, but thought it was worth a shot.

"We had the opportunity to have this or nothing, and we weren't going to have anything anyway so we said 'Alright, let's make it work'," he says.

"We did a few mental calculations on whether it's actually a good spot, is it too close to too many other places, are there people walking past? We decided that at the very least we could have a crack at it and it was the same as our attitude at Wallsend that, worse-case scenario, we would learn a heap of lessons, lose a a bit of money and it's all good."

The Station has undergone changes of late following a few false starts after its launch last year. Book collective Secret Book Stuff is located next door, collaborative makers' store Make Space has also moved in, homewares store House of Elliott has relocated to the site, and a new family-friendly event, Friday Bar Eats and Beats, is held regularly with food stalls, a bar, live music, markets and kids entertainment.

There is also free parking for two hours in a car park accessible off Wharf Road adjacent to the site.

"This place has become so much more alive, but I feel like people don't really know that you can come here and hang out," Rianna says."We want to get that awareness out there that this space is ready to be used."