Leading Newcastle coffee cafe owner Kenn Blackman, whose Xtraction Espresso outpost on the corner of King and Bolton streets in the East End set a standard for quality caffeine and food, has sold the business.
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"It was one of those things," he said on Tuesday. "Ten years down the track I decided I had so much more to do, and so much more to offer the industry, that has given me so much. So I decided to sell up and move on."
His last day on the tools at Xtraction was Friday.
He even had to go out and buy a bag of coffee beans over the weekend - not remembering the last time he did that.
At home it's plunger coffee for him, with a few tricks.
On Monday, Blackman posted on social media that he was leaving the business and handing it over to new owners.
He has no regrets and he is far from finished.
"It's certainly going forward," he said of Xtraction. "It has not stopped since inception when we first started in 2013, from then humble beginnings.
"I just always wanted to change, always wanted to develop, and be at the top of the game in Newcastle especially, and I think I proved that over time."
.The first item on the agenda now: a long holiday for him and his partner Vicky. After years of getting at .2.30am and serving coffee by 5am, it's time for a break.
Blackman, with extensive experience as a barista and cafe operator, took the cafe from a small hole-in-wall to an expansive, hip cafe with one of the best streetscapes in the city.
He was renown for his coffee, even offering "paddles" of quality blends.
His food offer, created with Vicky, also reached new heights, with desserts and sandwiches at first, expanding to bagels and street tacos and his famous "eggslut" (hash-brown scamble, caramelised onion, cheese, Kewpie mayonnaise, sriracha sauce on a brioche bun).
After a break, Blackman will be back.
"You will see me somewhere in some realm," he said. "I'll still be in town. I'm still a Newcastle guy. I love the town. It's done a lot for me and my family."
He's proud of being part of the city's coffee culture that has matured in the 21st century.
"Pretty much everyone can hold their head up," he said. "We've come of age as things have changed."
Surviving in business through the pandemic was perhaps his greatest challenge.
"No one was ready for it," he said. "For the majority of us, we were able to take a step back and realign ourselves and take on the challenge.
"Unfortunately, there has been some attrition. But look, for ourselves, we went back to being what we used - a little hole in the wall, being a takeaway industry. It was an easy transition back to that."
As for the next stage, he's still thinking outside the square.
"I look forward to having a guest appearance on someone's [coffee] bar somewhere," Blackman said. "That would be a thrill for me. It doesn't matter who it is, or how small. I think I have a lot to offer the small guys.
"It might be mums or dads who used up all their money to open a cafe, and are not knowing which way to turn.
"I can help with systems, guidance, maybe just me on the bar for a while. Show it can be done, show anybody can do it with passion and time in it."
Sort of like a guest chef?
"I don't see why that can't be done. I don't see it being done here in Newcastle. Why not put back into the industry, put back into the small guys... it's got to make the coffee industry in Newcastle better."
Jim Kellar
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
