Veteran coffee farmer Simon Jaramillo hightailed it to the land Down Under to serve his piquant Colombian brew in a former industrial garage turned hip-and-happening watering hole located close to Sydney’s Central Station.

Enlisting the design smarts of Australian architect Louise Nettleton, Jaramillo refined the 11.5-foot-by-49-foot space while retaining its rustic, garage-like feel. Frosted glass, steel benches, a roll-up garage door and black walls serve as a nod to the coffee house’s former life as a storage space for heavy machinery.

Underfoot are distressed tile floors, while overhead hang Edison Light Globes suspended in two rusted cages which span the room’s length. These are made from textured steel rods typically used to reinforce concrete structures. Quick disclaimer to those who envision hours of dainty sipping and free WiFi while luxuriating on plush upholstery: The Reformatory Caffeine LAB is standing-room only. Instead, you can rest your cuppa on one of the small steel plinths projecting from the wall.

One one side of the narrow space is an L-shaped counter made from matte steel with a recycled, glue-laminated top. On the opposite wall, a mad-scientist mural of Batman’s The Joker interwoven with characters and scenes from Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns and Judge Dredd declare Jaramillo’s fetish for comic books and graphic films.

The mural is Jaramillo’s vision realized through the handiwork of Melbourne-based illustrator, Heesco. “[Jaramillo] wanted a dark and grungy den-like cave,” Nettleton told Dezeen. “It suits the ephemeral and theatrical sense of this part of the city.” Beverage-wise, The Reformatory Coffee LAB is the coffee connoisseur’s haven, serving crop-to-cup java five different ways: pour-over, filter, french press, cold drip, and aeropress.