Stripes Coffee providing daily caffeine and treats to West End locals and Townsville community

Taking over a small coffee shop in a Townsville suburb only a year ago has proved to be the right choice for Rachel and Ash Steen.

Ash and Rachel Steen at Stripes Coffee in West End. Picture: Evan Morgan

Taking over a coffee shop a year ago has proved to be the right choice for Rachel and Ash Steen.

Stripes Coffee is a small coffee shop in West End at the back of Castle Hill, serving coffee, baked goods and food to both regulars and new customers each day.

Stripes has been operating since March 2017 under previous owners, but was taken over last year by Rachel and Ash Steen.
“It was a pretty smooth transition,” Ms Steen said.

“We knew that coming into West End we needed to be really consistent, so we’ve opened seven days for the past years.”

Rachel and Ash Steen at Stripes Coffee in West End. Picture: Evan Morgan

She said the addition of food and sweet treats was a great decision, providing customers with a quick bite while enjoying a coffee.

Ranging from wraps and croissants, to smashed avo and cakes, there is something for both sweet and savoury lovers.

“We got our food license as soon as we took over and it’s gotten bigger and better for us.”
The sunny spot has seating out the front for customers wanting to enjoy the morning sunshine, with the owners saying it’s a great spot for business.

Smashed avocado at Stripes Coffee in West End. Picture: Evan Morgan

“It’s a pretty good spot here,” Ms Steen said.

“Being in West End we get a lot of foot traffic from the streets nearby.”

“It’s a little bit of a shortcut from the city through to the main road, we get people driving past too and stopping for their morning coffee on the way to work.”

Bacon and egg croissant at Stripes Coffee in West End. Picture: Evan Morgan

With many residents from nearby streets stopping each morning, Mr and Ms Steen said they now know ‘every puppy dog’ in the area.

“It’s great that it’s mainly local, so it’s the same people week on week, if not everyday,” Ms Steen said.

“I worked in coffee many years ago when I was at uni, so I knew it was something I would enjoy.”

“We’ve gotten to know our customers and a lot of them have become our friends.”

Chorizo and egg wrap at Stripes Coffee in West End. Picture: Evan Morgan.

The owners said they kept the look of the shop the same, but did some ‘sprucing up’.

“We added some new furniture and little touches, we did like the style that shop already had and we’ve kept the name the same too,” Ms Steen said.

With plans to expand into further trading hours, the owners are in the works of creating a ‘pop-up restaurant’ at the shop.
“Our next plan which will hopefully be going by the end of the year is to start doing night trading. It would be more like a pop-up restaurant on Fridays and Saturdays,” Ms Steen said.
“We will see how it goes.”

Stripes Coffee is located at Shop 5/20 Echlin Street, West End.
The cafe is open Monday to Friday from 6:30am to 11am and weekends from 7am to midday.

Originally published as Stripes Coffee providing daily caffeine and treats to West End locals and Townsville community