Eurobodalla: Meet the cafe kings and queens making your cup of coffee
The Eurobodalla on the state’s south coast is full of cafes providing delicious, hot coffees – but who are the kings and queens making the ‘best coffees’ ever?
The South Coast News
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The Eurobodalla region on the state’s south coast is filled with cafes which sell delicious coffees, scrumptious breakfasts and sweet sugary treats – but who are the people behind the scenes who make the businesses cook?
Whether it be frothy, hot cappuccinos, or perfectly cooked eggs benedict, the coastal stretch is filled with top tier cafes, from Batemans Bay down south to Moruya.
Here are some of the best cafes in the area and the kings and queens who make them work.
Seven, Batemans Bay
Seven, on the northern side of Batemans Bay bridge, has been open for a more than 12 months with owner Stephanie Powell saying she is “already in love” with running the cafe.
“It’s just an awesome experience and we’re in such a good spot,” she said.
The cafe, named Seven due to Ms Powell and her husband Mark being pregnant with their fifth child at the time they opened, sells a myriad of treats, from perfectly brewed coffee to delicious, creative cookies.
“We’re pretty lucky to have such a nice amount of customers and we have a lot of regulars coming through these winter months,” she said.
The cafe, which sits next to the Clyde River, uses local produce where they can, including their coffee beans, which are created by Guerilla Roasters in Moruya.
“We try to get everything fairly close to here and I think it just makes everything taste a little bit better,” she said.
“We have people from Sydney drink our coffee and they will tell us it’s some of the best coffee they’ve had, which is a great compliment.”
Seven is open seven days a week, 6am to 4pm and can be found at 31 Clyde St, Batemans Bay.
Alfresco, Batemans Bay
If anything proves Alfresco is a great place to get a coffee in the Eurobodalla, it would have to be how they supply their coffee beans to cafes around the area.
Barista Jana Patrizi said the cafe was a staple for the coastal town.
“I’ve worked here for two years and it’s just a great place to work, great team and the customers are always awesome.”
Ms Patrizi said the Alfresco coffee was different from other cafes, due to the flavour and the quality.
“You can taste the quality of the coffee in the richness of the flavour, which is really cool,” she said.
Mr Patrizi said the cafe, which had been operating in Batemans Bay for about four years, had become well-known in the community, gaining a large handful of regular customers.
“We have people come in daily and we kind of know a lot of them more from their coffees rather than their names,” she said.
“But, I think that’s what makes this place so great, because yeah it’s a cafe, but it’s also this nice local and social hub for the community. It’s just awesome.”
Alfresco in Batemans Bay is open 6.30am to 3.30pm on weekdays, and 6.30am to 1pm on Saturday and can be found at 5 North St, Batemans Bay.
The Mossy, Mossy Point
This cafe situated in a beachside village has become a staple for locals and travellers, due to its social vibe and friendly nature.
Supervisor Chloe Kordic said the cafe, which was run out of an 1939 general store at Mossy Point, was so popular they had to open two more.
“We now have a ‘Mossy’ on Train St, Broulee and one at the Eurobodalla Botanic Gardens,” she said.
Despite the growing business, Ms Kordic said a large goal for the team was to preserve the historic general store structure.
“Everyone knows the history of the building, so we’ve found it important to keep it as close to its original roots as possible, which we think is also important given the large developing of the village around us.”
Along with delicious, locally brewed coffees, the cafe also sells bakery goods from pies to sausage rolls and sweets like cake and caramel slice.
Ms Kordic said moving to the cafe was a big change for her, after she spent a few years working as a beauty therapist in Canberra.
“I love the change though, especially here, because the Mossy has such a good, chilled social vibe,” she said. “Anyone can come here and feel like they’ve come to have a coffee at home. It’s that nice comforting feel.”
The Mossy is open seven days a week from 7.30am to 3pm and can be found at 31 Pacific St, Mossy Point.
Grumpy and Sweethearts, Mogo
Situated on the Princes Hwy running through Mogo, Grumpy and Sweethearts has become a stable for the tourism village, according to owner Dani Kidd.
“Mogo is a tourism town, so we get a lot of people in here during the holidays after a coffee, a lot of people will stop at our place for a bite to eat and a drink after visiting the zoo too,” she said.
The cafe has now been operating in Mogo for about three years, with “lot’s of regulars”.
“It’s really become a staple in the small town, we see heaps of people in here,” Ms Kidd said.
Like a few cafes in the area, Grumpy and Sweethearts uses Alfresco coffee, however, they use their own custom blend.
“It differentiates us from everyone else and you can tell that we’ve sort of made the coffee our own thing,” she said.
Along with the coffees, Ms Kidd’s cafe also sells a variety of breakfast foods and sweets which caters for everyone … including dogs.
“We sell what we call pupcakes for dogs, so everyone gets to enjoy our stuff,” she said.
Grumpy and Sweethearts is open Tuesday to Sunday, 7am to 2.30pm and can be found at 34 Sydney St, Mogo.
Mogo Brew Crew
After working in the restaurant industry for 17 years, Andrea Thompson decided it was time for a change and bought a coffee van.
Now, Ms Thompson has been running ‘Mogo Brew Crew’ out of her van nearly three years.
“I know a lot of people and I’ve lived here for 40 years, so we have so many people that will travel just to grab one of our coffees,” she said.
“We also have a lot of people that will drive past and toot and wave, it’s nice to be part of the community.”
Opening at 6.30am, Ms Thompson said her van became the place to be for tradies working in the area.
“We do the bulk of our trade between 6.30am and 8.30am, because we have a lot of tradies in the area and they love coming by to grab a coffee,” she said.
Ms Thompson said the most popular coffees she sold were cappuccinos or flat whites.
“We do over summer, a lot of iced lattes and things, but they die off in winter,” she said.
Mogo Brew Crew is open weekdays 6.30am to 1.30pm and weekends 6.30am to 1pm.
Ms Thompson and her coffee van can be found at 8 Tomakin Rd, Mogo.
Guerrilla Roasters
Owned by Eurobodalla mayor Matthew Hatcher, Guerrilla Roasters provides coffee to many of the cafes operating around the Eurobodalla area.
While Guerrilla Roasters does not have a physical cafe storefront, the office where the coffee produced lives in the heart of Moruya.
“We love supporting community and collaborating with other small business,” Mr Hatcher said.
The various blends created by Mr Hatcher are used by cafes from Batemans Bay to Narooma.
“We are passionate about the ethical delivery of quality coffee without compropose, sourcing beans direct from the farm and building lasting connections with farmers, cafe owners and online customers,” he said. “It really is the best coffee ever.”
For the coffee king himself, Mr Hatcher’s favourite drink is a double flat white.
“I’d follow that with a batch brew.”
Guerrilla Roasters coffee can be purchased from their website or from participating cafes.
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