Katie’s Cocktail Cafe: How overseas trip inspired Allora’s Katie Dennis to start new business

An overseas adventure cut short by the global pandemic saw a Southern Downs woman head back to her roots, transforming her beloved hometown’s tourism in the process. See what makes her small business unique here.

Katie's Cocktail Cafe in Allora offers a unique tourism experience, functioning as a mobile cocktail bar for functions and serving up coffee during the day.

The last place you’d expect to find a cocktail bar is in a small country town off a highway in southwest Queensland.

The unique idea brewed in the mind of Allora local Katie Dennis when she returned home from working overseas during the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Inspired to put her hometown back on the map, Ms Dennis took a leap of faith and decided to put the skills she learnt while overseas back to work, opening the Southern Downs’ first mobile cocktail bar.

“We just found an old caravan in a paddock and transformed it into a mobile bar and started out as a BYO bar for weddings and events, which very quickly took off,” she said.

Katie’s Cocktail Cafe quickly expanded from catering events to establishing a residence at 72 Herbert St, establishing a cafe in the shop front and the cocktail bar upstairs.

Creating an inviting space for all ages, the outdoor area is child and pet friendly, boasting a cubby house and play area so mums and dads can enjoy their morning coffee in peace.

Katie Dennis and staff member Shannon at Katie's Cocktail Cafe in Allora. Photo: Jessica Klein

The humble young mum’s formative years working for Marriott International in Canada as an event planner inspired her to bring these skills back to her hometown.

“Everyone who works here is someone that’s excited to bring amazing things to Allora,” she said.

“We want to not just have coffee and food but good coffee and food you wouldn’t expect in a little country town.”

Katie’s Cocktail Cafe reigns as the only coffee shop open before 8am in Allora, with trade continuing over the weekend.

“People were already coming out to Allora but then there was nothing to do because everything was closed,” she said.

Ms Dennis said since the business has opened she’s seen a major uptick in visitors stopping through town.

“We honestly see at least 80 people or families come through a day over the weekend and most of that is people from out of town,” she said.

Katie's Cocktail Cafe in Allora offers a unique tourism experience, functioning as a mobile cocktail bar for functions and serving up coffee during the day. Photo: Jessica Klein

Tourism in Allora is only getting started, Ms Dennis said, with her ultimate goal to continue adding to the existing list of reasons to visit.

The road to Ms Dennis’ success hasn’t always been an easy one, growing her business in the middle of a global pandemic and becoming a first-time mum all in between.

“We’re literally just trying to adjust all the time and it’s exciting and good for us to have those challenges where we’re kept on our toes because we want to create something new, but we also want to work with where the economy side of things is at,” she said.

“I love what I do and I don’t think you could actually do this job without loving it.

“I genuinely get so excited about walking into the space and creating new cocktails, even just working with the team.”

The upstairs cocktail bar, a recent addition to the establishment, is where you’ll find hand crafted cocktails from Ms Dennis herself, a self-confessed specialty.

Open from 5pm on Friday and Saturday, featuring a locally inspired cocktail menu with more than 50 variations on offer.

“We’ve actually designed our menu to be locally inspired, so we’ve got the Misty Dalrymple, Katie’s Passion, and the Allora Delight which is really popular,” she said.

“I guess what we also wanted to do is increase tourism and create a space where it’s memorable for the location.”

Ms Dennis said it was her passion and love for her small business, as well as the Allora community that keeps her going.

“I’m just coffee ‘till cocktails with exciting plans to come,” she said.

While they may have come runner-up in the Southern Downs best coffee competition, the team at Katie’s Cocktail Cafe are grateful to the community for their ongoing support.

Keep an eye out on social media to see what exciting events Katie’s Cocktail Cafe will have on offer during the Southern Downs favourite annual event Jumpers and Jazz in July.