Sydney cafe owner hits back after council orders him to stop operating outdoor coffee cart
A Sydney cafe owner says he has been left thousands of dollars out of pocket following a council decision to reject his application to continue operating a mobile coffee cart for customers.
Central Sydney
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A CBD cafe owner has accused the City of Sydney of stifling small businesses and the city’s dining scene after being told he is no longer able to serve customers from a small coffee cart set up in a bustling laneway.
Laneway Dumplings and Momo owner Santos Tiwari says he has been left thousands of dollars out of pocket following a council decision to reject his application to continue operating the mobile coffee cart on Temperance Lane off George St.
The cart was set-up during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic for the venue to continue operating in line with strict social distancing rules.
Mr Tiwari said the cart had grown to become a popular drawcard for city visitors as well as nearby office workers who flocked for the cups of bargain-priced caffeine-fix which cost as low as $3.
But after trading for more than two years, the council has deemed the cart “inconsistent with its planning controls” and rejected an application for the cart to remain in operation.
According to the council, the cart has been subject to several planning breaches including operating after a noon limit, not kept within approved serving areas and left in the street overnight rather than indoors.
“The coffee cart operators have been warned about many of these matters on several occasions through email, phone call, an on-site meeting and a letter sent to the applicant by email,” a council report added.
Mr Tiwari has hit back at the assessment and is calling for the council to reconsider its decision.
“It was just a coffee cart that was offering snacks and coffee – it wasn’t blocking the footpath and wasn’t hurting anyone he said,” he said.
“Customers loved it and it seems silly we can’t use it.
“The cart really helped as after Covid because for small businesses it’s been hard to get up and going again and the amount of foot traffic in the CBD still hasn’t fully rebounded.”
The decision comes despite the council recently extending a program encouraging hospitality businesses to operate on footpath areas by waiving alfresco dining fee applications until June next year.
Mr Tiwari is now trying to find a buyer for the cart which he paid $16,000 for and spent another $5000 on his planning application to have the cart approved by the council.
“We’re probably only going to be able to sell it for $5000 but we haven’t found a buyer and at the moment it’s just sitting covered in the laneway,” he said.
Mr Tiwari speculated that the council’s crackdown on the coffee cart may be a result of competing cafes complaining about the cart.
The council has been contacted for comment.
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