GROUNDS + JANDS

The Grounds of Alexandria

Huntley St, Alexandria NSW 2015
(02) 9699 2225 or http://groundsroasters.com/

Located in an old pie factory from the early 1900’s, The Grounds of Alexandria is the flagship venue for its specialty coffee. The site hosts a coffee research and testing facility alongside a café, opening onto a luscious garden of heirloom vegetables and fragrant herbs.

The integrity of the former warehouse has been retained by embracing its rustic and industrial aesthetic. Black and steel frames, bespoke wooden cabinetry and polished white and green subway tiles are contrasted against vintage wooden tables and refitted shipping containers.

With a holistic approach to food and design, The Grounds offers a wholesome and rustic menu. The kitchen uses sustainable practices like picking fresh herbs every morning and working with full time horticulturalist to grow seasonal produce for the menu. The Grounds took out the Best Cafe award in the Good Cafe Guide Awards this year.

York Antoniou of York Entertainment was asked by Grounds to provide a discreet audio system that would blend into its surrounds whilst still providing top quality sound reproduction. He recommended a JBL Control Series solution (from Jands).

“I’ve used JBL products in the past and they are always reliable, solid and of course, they sound great,” commented York. “The venue is divided into four zones: the café, the outside café area, the garden area and the back wall area. I decided that the JBL Control 25AV was the ideal product as it is compact, lightweight and delivers a good, clear sound. Its invisible mounting system makes it perfect for this project. There are also a couple of JBL Control 23T speakers above where they grind the coffee.”

Power is supplied by a Crown CDI1000 and a CDI2000 amplifier with signal processing by a BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU-100 and controlled by a BLU-8 wall controller.

“It’s a neat package that works very well,” added York. “The client is happy so I’m happy!”