Coffee shop finds new owner

"We've heard that Fernvale needs this sort of thing here, so it's good timing.”

BIG PLANS: Barb's Kitchen at Minden owner Barbara Frohloff, will take her coffee skills to Fernvale. Picture: Dominic Elsome

After languishing for months, The Girls' Coffee Bar in Fernvale has finally been sold.

The new owner, Barb Frohloff, already operates a successful store in Minden, and has big plans to expand the business in Fernvale.

"We're repainting, shifting the furniture around, redesigning the whole shop. It'll be a different atmosphere, friendly and welcoming,” she said.

"We've heard that Fernvale needs this sort of thing here, so it's good timing.”

Barb wasn't comfortable divulging how much she paid for the shop, but said a lot of thought and consideration went into the decision to purchase the store.

"The opportunity was there. I looked into it, and the more I did I kept thinking 'I'm getting older, I should be retiring soon', but I can't sit still, so I've got to do something,” she said.

Barb has been working in the industry for thirty years, and has been the owner of Barb's Kitchen in Minden since 2008.

Barb's Kitchen is an independent convenience store and petrol station that also offers baked goods, catering, takeaway, and dining options.

"We bake all our own cakes, we make all our own sandwiches, it's all made on the premises,” she said.

While the use of locally-sourced products is important, the store's giftshop is what Barb is most proud of.

"People just walk in the giftshop and go wow. It's something unique, people say they don't see that anywhere else. There's children's, men's gifts, all sorts of things.”

Barb said she was passionate about bringing this same experience to Fernvale.

"There'll be gift lines here at Fernvale as well, there's one room that will just have handbags and jewellery, and there'll be gifts all around the walls in the coffee shop,” she said.

She also plans to bring more dining options to the Fernvale shop, which will be open from 5am to 7pm daily, so that travellers along the busy Brisbane Valley Highway can purchase anything from morning coffees to takeaway dinners.

"It'll be a coffee shop, café, takeaway, and dine-in,” she said.

The Girls' Coffee Bar will reopen on Friday, August 16, and is already taking bookings.