Wollongong's urban farm opens to public with coffee and doughnuts

Smith Street Distillery, the brain-child of Illawarra Hotel publicans Ryan and Nikki Atchison, has been quietly growing a range of fruits, vegetables and herbs, that are used in the nearby pub's cocktails and limited releases of specialty spirits.

As of this week, the public is now invited to stop by for a coffee and a Sonoma pastry seven days a week from 7am to 2pm at the sister business, Smith Street Cafe.

Alongside caffeinated brews from NSW-based roaster Drumroll Coffee, there are doughnuts and croissants from Sydney bakery Sonoma, all served out of a retro-style caravan.

Customers can also pick up a bouquet from Fairy Meadow florist Brilliant Blooms, while they enjoy the fragrance from the array of native and aromatic plants that turned the former car yard into a green oasis.

"It's a green space in a part of Wollongong that doesn't really have many," Mr Atchison said.

What started as a way to source locally grown ingredients for liqueurs and cocktails has since blossomed, as staff from the pub swap shifts behind the bar for days spent underneath the trellises.

Mr Atchison said at this stage, it was about seeing what worked best for the community, with more plans ready to sprout.

"All we're trying to do now is look at what the needs are and what people want, and making sure that we deliver that."

The space is kid and dog friendly - "as long as they don't attack the chooks" - with a kids play space including a miniature kitchen around one corner.

The rest of the site remains a working farm, having recently harvested a bumper crop of chillis.

"We've got a bunch of Australian natives growing, and soon we'll be selling through the cafe things like infused olive oil with native thyme and our chillies," Mr Atchison said.

"The sriracha is on its way as well."

There's an open invitation to get to know a few more unusual crops that the team have growing, including strawberry gum which when the leaves are pounded gives off a sweet and lemony flavour, as well as native juniper and Illawarra plums.

Down the track, the idea is to have customers able to enjoy a cocktail made with local ingredients on site, with the distillery part of the operation behind the white-washed walls between the farm and adjacent brewery Dusty Lizard.

Overall, Mr Atchison said, the intention was to open up a space that's for the community.

"We're really trying to use this space to make it a more liveable city and a city that is more attractive to people to stay in and interact in."