Cafe under fire over decision to exclusively serve drinks in takeaway cups

A coastal cafe has come under fire following a decision that customers say has caused distressing scenes in the community.

Fury is building following an Australian cafe’s decision to exclusively serve its coffees in disposable cups as distressed locals express concerns over the environmental impact.

Surfing Lizard, which has two locations in Western Australia, one in Secret Harbour about an hour south of Perth, and another in Coogee about half-hour from Perth, announced the decision last month.

In a post to Facebook that has since been removed, the business said it was more viable to serve all drinks, excluding alcohol, in takeaway cups because of staff shortages.

The decision received immediate backlash and customers have since lambasted the cafe for its “1960s behaviour”.

“You only have to look at a place like Bali to realise giving customers disposable cups is going to cause issues. It’s behaviour from the 1960s when people didn’t give a sh*t,” a customer named Raymond told news.com.au this week.

“We’re better than that now as a society, at least we should be. It’s a joke really.”

Another said it was a blatant “backwards step” that was unlikely to align with the local community’s values.

“We live on a beautiful stretch of coastline and it’s disappointing that a business operating so close to our ocean isn’t concerned about the sustainability of serving everyone using disposable cups,” a customer named Sally said.

This notice is displayed near the registers.

Surfing Lizard announced the decision last month.

“There was a big push last year to reduce single use straws, cups, etc so this change seems like a bit of a backwards step and I’m not sure it aligns with the values of the local community.”

When news.com.au visited the Secret Harbour location this week, an A4 sign was displayed on a bollard near its self-serve registers indicating the change.

“Dear customers, due to a shortage of skilled baristas during this busy season, all drinks – except alcoholic beverages – will be served in takeaway cups until the end of summer,” it read.

“We believe it’s better to serve you a great coffee in a takeaway cup than a subpar one in a mug.”

The cafe was contacted by news.com.au earlier this week for comment but has not responded. A manager opted against commenting without the owner’s permission.

The nearest bins were overflowing with cups.

Light wind blows cups out of the bin.

The change being short-term and the belief the cafe owners support the community in other ways was enough to maintain the support of one local, Diane.

“I believe his [one of the owner’s] decision to use paper cups was made thoughtfully and he took into account the effect it would have on the wildlife,” she told news.com.au.

“I think there’s things beyond his control that led to it and he’s made everyone aware, plus it’s only a short term thing so I trust that he’s made the best decision he can.”

Another local customer who frequents the cafe regularly said she didn’t like the takeaway cups because she enjoyed the experience of drinking out of a mug when she went out for a meal.

“The disposable cups add to landfill and don’t see why you would really need to use them exclusively. If you can serve coffee in a reusable mug, why wouldn’t you?” the woman, named Liz, said.

Everyone is served in a disposable cup.

Takeaway cups littered the path and dunes.

A local council bin located nearby was overflowing with waste and disposable cups from the cafe were spilling out the top, with a light breeze blowing a cup onto the ground.

Further up the path, several cups were strewn through the dunes and across the footpath.

Another customer, Ali, said she preferred mugs because they were warm when you held them and the coffee tasted better out of a ceramic dish.

She was hopeful the cafe was responsibly disposing of takeaway cups left behind by customers.

A customer named Judy pointed out there was no bin to easily recycle the takeaway cups in, aside from a public waste bin located about 50 metres away.

Someone else put the decision plainly, labelling it “silly”.

“If I wanted to drink out of a takeaway cup, I’d go to a takeaway store. If I’m going to sit down in a cafe, I expect the coffee to be in a mug,” customer Margaret said. 

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Originally published as Cafe under fire over decision to exclusively serve drinks in takeaway cups