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When the Urban Espresso Lounge came up for sale in 2018 Brooke and Greg Welch were 200 km north of Perth with three kids in tow, living out of a caravan on a cross-country road trip.
By the time they reached Broome, more than 2100 kilometres later, they were cafe owners.
Fast forward two years and business is booming, with the couple building on Urban Espresso's solid reputation to be voted Coffs Harbour's joint best following a public vote.
Since taking over the Harbour Drive business, the team have increased the food offerings by introducing a comprehensive Asian salad menu, vegan menu and all-day breakfast while also extending the operating hours to capture those people out and about in the very early morning.
Add to that some delicious coffee using locally roasted blends from Stoka, and it is no wonder the public are often queuing up.
"You work so hard and when you have a queue at the door at 8am on a Saturday morning and you are full - it's a good feeling," Brooke said.
And this is no "hole in the wall" operation, with the deceptively narrow shopfront masking a vast space with room for the 22 staff - including four full-time chefs - to help serve hundreds of meals a day.
"It is a big business … we offer a lot and we have a really good team," she said.
"We will do 450 meals on a Sunday and about 350 coffees. It's hard work but it is very rewarding."
Brooke said it was "amazing" to be recognised by the public as Coffs Harbour's best cafe especially after some nervous moments when the coronavirus force the operation to close for 13 weeks.
With no telling what would happen once the restrictions were lifted, the business has been buoyed by the surge in visitors to the region.
"Since we reopened the doors the regional travel has just been insane, Coffs has just been so busy," she said.
"Two or three days over the holidays you can have up to 2500 people through here."
Urban Espresso Lounge secured exactly the same votes as The Black Apple at Moonee Marketplace in Delicious Local's search to find Coffs Harbour's best cafe.
That means the region will have two entrants into the next stage of the competition - to discover the state's favourite cafe.
Urban Espresso Lounge is located at 382 Harbour Dr, Coffs Harbour and opens from 5.30am every morning.
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