From County Wicklow to Perth: A Family Bakery Built on Tradition

For the Connell family, baking has been a way of life for more than three decades. Their story began in 1995 in County Wicklow, Ireland, where the family established a bakery built around quality, tradition and the simple pleasure of good food.

Emmett Connell grew up around the family business and joined after leaving school, learning the craft alongside his father Sean and mother Martina. Today, his sister Seana and brother Ryan are involved too, continuing a family tradition that has travelled more than 14,000 kilometres from Ireland to Western Australia.

After making Perth home, the Connells bring with them decades of baking experience and the flavours they knew best. Today, that tradition can be found across two much-loved Perth venues: Mount Claremont Village Bakery and Connells Family Bakery in Osborne Park.

Bringing a taste of Ireland to Perth

At Mount Claremont Village Bakery, the Connells have created the kind of neighbourhood bakery where regulars are known by name and there’s always something fresh coming out of the oven. The award-winning artisan bakery brings together traditional Irish influences and more than 50 years of combined baking experience, with everything from freshly baked breads and hearty chunky beef pies to pastries, croissants, tarts, donuts and café favourites.

But creating a great bakery has always been about more than what comes out of the oven. It’s about creating a welcoming space where customers feel at home – something that has helped Mount Claremont Village Bakery become a firm favourite within its local community.

And, of course, good baked goods need good coffee to go with them.

A coffee partnership begins

Our partnership with the Connell family began in May 2019, when GESHA Coffee Co. became the wholesale coffee partner for Mount Claremont Village Bakery. From the beginning, the relationship extended beyond supplying freshly roasted specialty coffee. Equipment, training, technical support and servicing have all played a role in helping the team deliver consistent coffee alongside the food they had already become known for.

Emmett explains, it’s the complete partnership that has kept the relationship strong over the years. “The quality of the equipment, the quality of the support, the quality of the bean…”

For a busy bakery, having that support behind the scenes matters. If an equipment or training issue arises, Emmett says the process is simple. “It literally is a phone call and then we don’t have to think about it again.”

From one family bakery to two locations

As the family business continued to grow, another opportunity followed. In December 2021, the Connells opened Connells Family Bakery in Osborne Park, bringing the same family approach, Irish baking traditions and commitment to quality to a second Perth location. And when it came to coffee, the partnership with GESHA followed.

We have proudly supplied Connells Family Bakery since it opened, allowing the relationship that began at Mount Claremont to grow alongside the Connells.

Today, the two bakeries serve an average of around 650 coffees every day, using approximately 100 kilograms of coffee each week across the two locations.

It’s a long way from where they started, and that shared growth is something Emmett believes has made the relationship particularly special.

Growing together

As the Connell family has grown its business from one Perth bakery to two, our role has grown with it. From coffee supply and equipment to ongoing training, servicing and technical support, the goal has always been to make the coffee side of running their venues as seamless and reliable as possible. But after so many years, Emmett says the relationship has become about more than business.

“It’s a business relationship with GESHA, but number one, it’s about friendship and growth together. We’ve developed great friendships.”

That’s exactly what we believe a great wholesale partnership should become.

Our role isn’t simply to deliver coffee and walk away. It’s to understand our customers’ businesses, be there when they need support and continue evolving alongside them. For the Connells, that has meant having a coffee partner they can rely on as their venues have become significantly busier and their team and customer base have grown. And for us, it has meant having the privilege of watching another local family business grow while being part of the journey.

“If I could offer advice to any potential coffee shop owners or hospitality venues that are considering switching coffee suppliers, I would definitely say consider GESHA just for the quality of their product, their knowledge and their support. They’ve been amazing.”

Visit the Bakeries

Mount Claremont Village Bakery – 33 Asquith Street, Mount Claremont, Western Australia
Connells Family Bakery – Osborne Park, Western Australia

Wholesale Coffee Partnership

• Weekly specialty coffee supply
• Coffee machine and equipment supply
• Regular coffee machine and equipment servicing
• 24/7 in-house customer service & technical support
• Barista training and ongoing team support