McLaren Vale Meeting Place cafe focusing on packs for disabled, elderly and vulnerable
While other cafes and restaurants go into takeaway in order to keep going, a McLaren Vale cafe – now closed to diners – says it’s busier than ever.
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As the age-old saying goes, “adapt or die”, and Mark Potter has transformed his business to embrace an emerging market, along with our “new normal” lifestyle.
Mr Potter, who heads up Meeting Place co-working hub in McLaren Vale, says his cafe is closed to diners – but it’s far busier now than it’s ever been.
Instead of offering takeaways, he is making bulk meals for vulnerable people, such as older residents, people with disabilities and those self-isolating.
He believes the idea of cafes closing their doors and attempting to survive through takeaways or deliveries is dicey territory, as that market is likely to crash as unemployment rises, the economy suffers and people can afford fewer treats.
“Any person who’s over 65 years should be self-isolating now and I’m proposing to provide 2-3 meals a week to that sort of cohort,” Dr Potter says.
“I think there’s probably 1000 meals a day that can go out in my area and I’m doing about 150 a week at the moment.”
His strategy is to work with disability service providers and put together packs of basic household items such as toothpaste, rice, pasta and toilet paper at an affordable price, along with the meals.
Community is front of mind for Dr Potter, whose venture was named best small business at the 2019 SA Community Awards.
The business mentor has run jobskilling and barista classes for about 300 people, including many with disabilities, is providing advice on how companies can adapt to COVID-19’s impacts and has been a listening ear for people those struggling through the pandemic.
“I was confronted with losing my business. Almost every income stream I had is gone and I would have been applying for Centrelink, (but) I’ve recognised a new market,” he says.
“My aim is to plug in all the cafes in the region that are friends of mine and get their kitchens fired back up to start making bulk meals.”
It’s not just work life that’s changed for Dr Potter – he’s begun homeschooling his children Matilda, 11, and Willem, 13, forming a network with 10 other parents.
“I’ve created a daily roster for my kids from 9am to 4pm and we do maths, science, history and biology, just like normal.
“I live 120 steps from the reef breaks of Port Noarlunga South and we went on an ecology lesson yesterday and classified the life in a little rock pool.”
He even organised a novel way to celebrate Willem’s birthday at the weekend, swapping his annual “Australian Survivor”-themed party with an online Dungeons and Dragons game.
Dr Potter says like many people, he went through some tough days dealing with the drastic ways COVID-19 has transformed the way we live, work and socialise.
“I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a black flower and the petals were closing over and smothering me,” he says.
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However, he has chosen to instead look for the positives, including the idea that the epidemic can return our focus to family and community.
“I’m on the same treadmill that everybody else is and I reckon I’ve had three days off in two years and I’m tired. Couldn’t I just … get my vegie patch going again and spend more time with my kids?
“We can sit there and say how bad it is or we can sit there and say, ‘How do we make the best out of it?’.”