Suburban cafe revival as people seek local comfort
Many businesses are struggling and even going under as the fallout from the COVID pandemic continues to be felt. But these coffee shops seem to be enjoying a resurgence. FIND OUT THE HOTTEST CAFE SUBURBS
QLD Business
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Coffee shops are emerging as vital community hubs during the pandemic shutdown, joining a resurgence of cafe culture in the “burbs.”
Wooloowin’s Coddle & Co, run by mother and daughter Julie and Meg Hopkins, has moved into larger premises to meet growing demand while on the southside Seven Hills’ Oats & Sky is hiring more staff to expand its menu.
Neighbourhood coffee shops such as Coddle & Co and Oats & Sky are experiencing an upsurge in business as people working from home not only seek their daily dose of caffeine but human contact. Merlo has reported in increase in sales in commuter suburbs such as Toowong, Paddington and Victoria Point.
Julie Hopkins says that despite a dip in trade during the early days of the shutdown, the shop was soon doing a strong trade as locked down workers sought coffee, cakes and comfort.
“Because we are in an area with lots of aviation workers, there were many emotional mornings where people shared their stories of family redundancies.” says Mrs Hopkins.
”There were also lots of people wanting to support us, with customers wanting to pay us $20 for a flat white.
“Although a very kind offer, which we couldn’t accept, we set up a ‘pay-it-forward’ register. Customers who were still employed just wanted to do something for people who needed support. There were dozens of coffees pre-paid for frontline workers as well.”
She said the cafe also introduced a Skip App to enable customers to order ahead so they could get their coffee as soon as they arrived at the cafe.
“We never had a problem with people not social distancing or crowding around,” she said. “They would line up at a window we had opened up and collect their coffee.”
Sevens Hills’ Oaks & Sky say since opening in May it has been embraced by the local community. A cafe spokesperson said the business was looking for two kitchen staff so it could expand its menu to include lunch.
“We are even busy during the week because more people are working from home and are dropping in to get their coffee and a snack,” she said.
Cottlle & Co’s Mrs Hopkins said the cafe has increased coffee sales by 20kgs per week since the start of the pandemic. When the opportunity arose to take a larger premises across the road from their existing shop, they jumped at it.
“Our old shop was only half the size, so there were limitations in what we could do there,” she said. She said the new premises included a community library and reading room and a large display space for homewares and deli items.
“We make about half our revenue from coffee and the rest from gifts and plants,” she said. “The key to survival is being prepared to change and diversify.”
She said the pandemic had moved the focus of people back to the suburbs which was a good thing for local traders. “What COVID-19 did is change the face of retail,” she said. ”People do not want to go back to shopping centres, and they have become more aware of the rewards and importance of shopping in their local village.”
Merlo Coffee owner Dean Merlo said COVID had hit CBD cafes hard. “There’s been a definite drop off in business in the city - as well as universities – because people are working and studying from home,” Mr Merlo said.“However, this has been materially offset by an increase in business in our suburban cafes and our online store.
“We’ve seen a doubling in orders for coffee beans from our online store over the past year because more people are making it and drinking it at home. People are still having their daily coffee dose – we’re just having it in different places.”
Coffee Hot Spots:
Toowong
Paddington
Coorparoo
Bowen Hills
Victoria Point
Source: Merlo
