Meet Matt Neary – Double Drop Espresso

From a casino in Brisbane, to a backpackers in London, a chicken farm in Kentucky, to LaneWay in Armidale, Matt Neary has had a few business ventures before bringing Double Drop Espresso to Armidale’s cafe scene. Here’s how it unfolded.

 

What did life look like before Armidale? 

I’m a Brisbane boy who left school early to pursue a career in hospitality. I worked at Brisbane Casino for a couple of years before heading over to London. While there I ran a bar and backpackers – that’s where I met Mel. She walked in one evening and gave me shit for refusing to serve her more drinks at closing time. I liked her immediately. We ended up working at the same pub and I’d walk all the girl team members home at the end of every night shift. I’d do a loop and always make it so I’d drop her off last. Then one night, I just didn’t leave – we’ve been together ever since.

Back in Brisbane, we had our first daughter and the second was on the way when we started craving the tree change. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law live in Armidale, have kids around the same age and own a massive farm out at Kentucky. So I had an idea, to run a chicken farm. Mel was 100 per cent no at first, but that’s how she starts – with a no – then I get her on board and she becomes the biggest supporter. So we moved here six years ago, bought 1000 chickens and a caravan and sold free range eggs.

Hold up… you were a chicken farmer?

Yup, well, a free range chicken egg farmer. It was cool at first, looking after the chickens, moving them to different pastures every day. Then a year and a half in we realised there was never going to be a break. It was seven days a week, non-stop. We needed something that worked for us, instead of me constantly working for the business. That’s when I saw the sign – literally – a poster in the window of a cafe in the Mall Arcade. It said ‘We’re closing down’ so I jumped in. I spoke to the real estate agent and asked if I could take over from that day onwards. Mel was a no at first, again. ‘You’ve never run a cafe. Don’t do that’. But she came round, as she does. We rebranded, launched LaneWay and have honestly loved the past four to five years in that space. But it was time to move on.

Fair play – what was the biggest challenge at LaneWay?

The venue was tiny, dark and cold. People weren’t drawn to sit there because it kind of lacked that cafe vibe – so it became more of a takeaway lunch spot. People would come in, grab something and leave. We wanted to create a space where people feel like they can sit there all day, catch up with mates or sit at their computer.

Enter Double Drop Espresso – where you opened doors in November 2024 right? 

That’s right – a new location was key. Somewhere with natural light, street frontage, parking, a few core things that were really missing from LaneWay. I also really wanted to start with a brand new, empty box, something that was entirely mine where I could bring my vision for Double Drop to life. That means inky blue walls, exposed brick features, actual living plants hanging from floating shelves and both indoor and outdoor seating options for people. It’s been full on getting here, running LaneWay while renovating Double Drop, burning the candle at both ends and never seeing Mel and the kids. But she’s such a trooper – this time round she was straight up loving it and behind me all the way. She’s been so awesome, picked up the extra load and pushed me through to get here. The self doubt crept in at times and I’ve racked up some debt which I’ve never done before, but I just knew I had to throw everything at it, money and energy, and hope that it worked.

Rest assured, it’s worked – huge congrats. Biggest highlight since swinging the doors open? 

Sunlight. Literally being able to see outside is huge. I knew it would impact me, but I can see the effect it’s had on my team too – Caleb and April – they actually look forward to coming to work more now, we’re all just loving it. I feel like I can finally breathe, step back and really enjoy what we’ve created here. We’ve welcomed a new chef, JD, who’s awesome and he’ll be bringing new dishes to the table all the time. We’ve also got some catering menus available for the busy Christmas season and a new coffee machine and grinders running Single O espresso and long blacks. I’m also really excited to be showcasing works by local artists on our main wall. We’re kicking off with the brilliant Janna Hayes and will be introducing a new artist every eight weeks. Like something you see on the wall? You can buy it on the spot. Come January we’ll also have a stand-up bar and built-in stools in the mall out the front, new picnic tables and umbrellas and a bike rack – huge thanks to council for coming to the party with that, it’s been massive, and it’s only getting better from here.

Double Drop Espresso | 126 Beardy Street | Armidale NSW 2350 | 0401 440 391 | Facebook | Instagram | Monday to Friday 7.00am–2.00pm | Saturday to Sunday 7.00am–11.30am