Kardomah Cafe owner Jacqueline Sampson’s compassionate dinner service
Jacqueline Sampson’s cafe is not only selling homemade goodies such as sausage rolls, pies and jaffles but she is delivering affordable dinners to Mackay’s elderly population.
Business
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Jacqueline Sampson’s cafe name Kardomah translates to “happy place”, and for many regular customers, it lives up to its name.
The Mackay resident’s Kardomah Cafe was named after the cafe she used to go to with her parents and grandparents in Manchester, when she was a young girl.
“It was just a bit of sentiment that I called if Kardomah,” Ms Sampson said.
“Kardomah means happy place.”
Ms Sampson has owned many businesses in her time, but she has always wanted to open her own cafe.
She opened Gregory St cafe in early December, and said it was a “no fuss” place where everyone was welcome.
“We just want a friendly place where anyone can come,” Ms Sampson said.
“No discrimination against anyone, everyone is welcome.”
Ms Sampson also hopes to grow her homemade dinner delivery service for Mackay’s elderly residents.
She said she already had two customers who relied on her service most nights, with one of the customers in a wheelchair and the other elderly man living on his own.
“I had a friend of the lady in the wheelchair come in, and she said to me this is a service that is needed in Mackay,” Ms Sampson said.
“And she said how lovely I was to stay and have a bit of a chat with her.
“A lot of the people can’t get out, so if I can, I do a bit to help.”
Her meals are $10, with a $2 delivery fee, and she said they were basic, homemade meals that everyone loved.
“The oldies love the Sunday roast and the favourite is the silverside and white sauce,” she said.
She said many customers commented on how accommodating her cafe was, with many enjoying the agency of designing their own lunch item.
Kardomah Cafe has a range of classic homemade items on the menu, such as pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches and jaffles.
She said the Turkish melts, comprised of chicken, camembert cheese, avocado and aioli, were a crowd favourite.
Kardomah Cafe is also open from 10pm to 4am on Friday and Saturday for Mackay’s “pub crowd”.
“We are doing pies, sausages, cheeseburgers and loaded hotdogs,” she said.
“And of course we serve coffee,”
Local artist Jodie Connolly, the award-winning artist behind Mackay’s Fifth Lane, designed and painted the mural on Kardomah Cafe’s wall.
Fifth Lane artwork won the gold award for the Best Street Art Laneway in Australia.
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