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Mercedes me Rialto Towers
Nadine Armstrong14 Oct 2017
NEWS

'Mercedes me' café concept hits Melbourne

Mercedes says grind it and they will come to the German brand's new concept store

'Mercedes me' Melbourne opens its doors to coffee-loving Melburnians on November 3.

The seventh concept store of its kind in the world, the space is a blend of cafe and car culture and aims to subtly educate about the Mercedes-Benz brand.

And there will be coffee. Exceptional coffee.

With coffee masters ST. Ali behind the counter, Melbourne’s coffee aficionados are guaranteed to swarm.

According to Jerry Stamoulis, Public Relations and Product Communications Manager at Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific, the car part of the equation is to be subtle. “If you don’t want to interact with the brand, you don’t have to,” he explained.

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But the truth is, we all know the most interesting conversations happen in a caffeine-induced state of mind.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific CEO and Managing Director, Horst von Sanden, said: “It’s a place where you can simply sit and enjoy some quality time in a beautiful environment, have a great coffee or something to eat, or engage with our brand like never before. It’s not a merchandise store or a dealership but an entirely new experience in Australia.”

With the dealership landscape forced to rethink the way it engages with buyers, the ‘Mercedes me’ concept goes one step further. There will be no sales people, rather Mercedes-Benz representatives… should you have a brand-related question.

Said to be inspired by Mercedes factories of the '40s and '50s, the space designed by Melbourne architects Jackson Clement Burrows is a milk-crate and mismatched crockery free zone.

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Instead, it looks a lot like a place where I’ll never take my children. Clean lines, fine steelwork frames and live greenery set the tone for an onslaught of carefully-curated Instagram moments.

A ‘Meet the Maker’ space will see Melburnian creative’s wares on rotation -- milliners, watchmakers and more – while a Mercedes-Benz vehicle will always be the centrepiece of the main café space.

Taking bespoke to new heights, the ‘Mercedes me’ coffee menu is next level, featuring brand specific blends. Choose from an AMG Blend, S Blend (the flagship roast) or a lighter A Blend. The new coffee roaster even uses parts from Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

ST. Ali’s Salvatore Malatesta said: "We love being part of early adopter projects ... and working with the team at Mercedes-Benz on this project takes things to another level.”

‘Mercedes me’ Melbourne can be found at the base of the Rialto Towers on the corner of King and Collins Streets, Melbourne.

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