Former Kandanga Kitchen owners launch new Gympie cafe

The former owners of a popular Kandanga cafe that was forced to close during the height of Covid have returned with a brand new business in the centre of Gympie.

The former owners of the popular Kandanga Kitchen are back with a brand new business venture after their successful Mary Valley cafe’s run was cut short by Covid.

Trent Kirkwood and Bec Edmonds are gearing up to throw open the doors of their new Tozer St cafe The Two of Us more than year after they had to shut the doors on what was a thriving tourism spot.

The couple did not beat around the bush on how it felt to pull the plug on their Mary Valley venture.

“It sucked,” Mr Kirkwood said.

Ms Edmonds said the 50km travel limit introduced during the initial pandemic outbreak in 2020 – which followed one of the worst bushfire periods in Australia’s history – was the final nail in the coffin for the Kitchen.

“When Covid first happened it was very different to what it is now,” Ms Edmonds said.

Trent Kirkwood and Bec Edmonds are hard at work renovating their new Tozer St shop in preparation for an October opening.

“No-one knew what was going to happen … it was pretty heartbreaking,” she said.

“We didn’t have any plans to leave,” Mr Kirkwood said.

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“I think I fell into a bit of depression for about three months.”

It also left a “burning desire” inside to go back to the hospitality well and pick up where they left off.

In the year since the Kitchen’s closure the couple bought a house in Gympie, another factor in their choice to open the doors in the city.

They have plans to not only stay quite a bit longer, but keep the city thriving through some big changes.

Bec Edmonds and Trent Kirkwood are opening their new cafe The Two of Us after being forced to shut their popular Kandanga Kitchen during the height of Covid in 2020.

“Our plan at the three year point (and once the Bypass has opened) … we want to make people not forget about Gympie,” Mr Kirkwood said.

“We want to keep it on the map.”

It kept alive a dream Mr Kirkwood had in London about a decade ago when his job was selling cars.

“Anyone and everyone says they can (open a cafe) it but you see so many fold,” Mr Kirkwood said.

“The good thing about Kandanga was you had to make it work.”

The couple are eyeing an October opening date for the new cafe.