This was published 3 years ago
A daily coffee hit became an act of self-care – and not just for the customers
By Kimberly Gillan
For many Melburnians, our barista was the shining light of lockdown. Offering some precious human interaction, a takeaway coffee became a treat that got us through many long and lonely days.
Now, as cafes re-fill, we spoke to some of the frontline coffee pourers to find out what it was like being one of the few friendly faces many of us saw, and how they perked us up amidst all the stress and fear.
Nathan Salvalaggio serves a customer at Werribee's Wolf of Watton.Credit: Scott McNaughton
"We've made beautiful friendships"
– Nathan Salvalaggio, Wolf of Watton, Werribee
"When the first lockdown was announced, we had to close for a week to restructure our cafe for takeaway and delivery. There was this new virus and everything was up in the air – we were so worried and didn't know if we would be able to open at all, and felt at risk [having human contact].
But then you learn the rules and [start to feel] OK and I felt lucky I got to go to work every day – I couldn't imagine how I would have been if I was stuck at home.
We had so many personal conversations – at the start people were really stressed, in the middle people were getting confused and by the end people were tired of it all. You could tell when people were going through bad periods, but we just tried to stay as positive as possible.
One of the highlights was serving Ron, an older customer who came in every day and made friends with all the staff and customers. People would buy him his coffees because they thought he was the most lovely guy. I told him about my mum going through cancer and he shared he had been through it too, then gave me his number to pass onto my mum so she could call him.
We've been given gifts and hand written letters from people saying, 'thank you for helping us get through this'. It made us feel really humble and happy. We had helped them and they helped us."
"I just wanted to give my customers a hug"
– Merrin McKenzie, Down The Street in Frankston South
Merrin McKenzie from Down The Street in Frankston South.
"There were some heavy periods during lockdown. There were times when everybody who walked in the door just seemed miserable and we had people breaking down in tears every day. One lady's father died in NSW and she couldn't see him and another customer's husband got stuck interstate for three or four months. I just wanted to give them a hug.
The ones you really worried about were those who didn't [share]. You could see their decline and think back to how they were prior [to COVID] and think, 'Gee, they are not in a good place'.
Our cafe is near Frankston hospital and the paramedics and nurses and doctors who came in were such a pillar of positivity. The midwives were still delivering babies and seeing hope coming through.
We had so many customers leaving $50 or $100 to pre-pay frontline workers' coffees, but a lot of them would say, 'I'll pay for mine – I'm still at work and making money, so give it to someone who is having a bad day'. I would think, 'You guys are going through so much and you are still giving! They are such natural givers that it drives you to be a better person as well."
"A simple cup of coffee was so appreciated"
– Mary-Jane Daffy, Carter Lovett in Elsternwick
Mary-Jane Daffy from Carter Lovett in Elsternwick.
"For many of our customers, having a cup of coffee was a slice of normality to kickstart their day – a simple coffee was appreciated and it wasn't just transactional; it became more than just a coffee.
Instead of our customers being really geared up and focused, only having three minutes until their 7.45am train, they would have a chat while they waited outside and many developed relationships amongst themselves.
When the first lockdown came in March, there was a huge fear [of coronavirus], then I think that shifted to financial [stress] in the second lockdown. People who had been coming in every Friday or Sunday for a home meal order suddenly dropped off to once a week or every second week.
Towards the end, there was anger. I tried to be really positive and buoyant, always saying, 'We are nearly there! We are in this together'. Customers told me they loved coming to Carter Lovett because it was so positive.
Hospitality is about creating a table where people can be open and share beautiful food with people they love. We didn't change that for takeaway – we just removed the table."
"We hit the anxiety with kindness"
– Salvatore Malatesta, St Ali in South Melbourne
Salvatore Malatesta from St Ali in South Melbourne.
"When coronavirus hit, we quickly pivoted so our main business was online. Prior to COVID, we were moving 1000 parcels per month [of coffee, pantry staples, hand sanitiser and apparel], now we are doing 10,000.
But with that success came a whole bunch of other issues and expectations. We said 'same day or next day delivery' but our parcels were being sent through Sydney and Newcastle and customers were getting [angry about delays] – one verbally abused us.
That day, I thought, 'I could get angry or I could just focus on making this better' so I decided to use our own drivers for deliveries in Victoria. It was going to put an enormous pressure on us, but it was going to be less pressure than the trolling. Any time we get that kind of behaviour now, we hit the anxiety with kindness.
Each morning I gave a pep talk to my crew and I'd talk about how in crisis, wars and trauma, people react differently. We had to remember that a lot of our customers weren't OK – they have lost jobs, been through divorce or other stresses, and we needed to accommodate those emotions.
Now we are re-open for dining and watching people's excited faces is pretty great. It hasn't been an easy year but I've felt nothing but love."
"We had some really deep conversations"
– Eli Kusters, Eight Murray Street in Abbotsford
Eli Kusters from Eight Murray Street in Abbotsford.
"We always say that it's the triple Bs – bartenders, barristers and baristas – who aren't trained for counselling but they always do it. We didn't get the staff to do too much [apart from] talk to everyone. I remember a customer telling us that she'd broken down walking down the street the day before, and then we all opened up about what we were struggling with.
Our lead barista Reuben loves trivia so would write little fun facts on coffee cup lids – things like 'Elephants can't jump', which got a lot of vibe going on and a lot of [social media] posts.
One day a lady came in and gave us a $100 note and said, 'Thank you, it's not much in the scheme of things but I hope it helps you out'. It was so lovely.
Now that we're re-open, people are so happy. We've launched a new menu that is half the size [of our old one]. Pre-COVID, we would have got hate mail about, 'Where's my favourite dish?' But now everyone is just like, 'I'm so glad you're open!'
We've all been thrown in the deep end [this year] but I think the new normal is going to be a lot better – people will be more understanding."