Celebrating their 10th birthday and International Coffee Day, Simple Coffee House is one of the cafes giving away coffee on October 1

As the world celebrates International Coffee Day on Tuesday here’s where you can get free coffee on the Gold Coast. See the cafes.

When a milestone birthday and International Coffee Day land on the same day, it calls for free coffee – and that’s exactly what Simon Shanahan is doing.

Mr Shanahan is the owner of Simple Coffee House in Southport and said it was a happy accident that the cafe’s 10th birthday collided with the international celebration.

“In 2014, we had planned to open a little bit sooner, but we had a few setbacks, as often happens and we realised that International Coffee Day fell on the first of October.

“So we said, well, let’s just make that our official opening day,” he said.

Owner Simon Shanahan from Simple Coffee House in Southport is celebrating 10 years of business Tuesday with free coffees and cupcakes. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Shanahan said he was very grateful for the locals that frequent the cafe and that he’s very proud of the progress made in the last 10 years.

“I think the real milestones in any business is three years, five years and 10 years.

“Everyone sort of told me the first three years was going to be the most challenging part, once you get through five years, you’ve got a good, solid business, and 10 years is just a real milestone for any business.

“I think in hospitality, it’s tough industry for lots of different reasons so we’re super proud of the fact that we’ve made it to this milestone.

“There’s no way I could have, could have done it without just local support, the majority of our customers are regular customers,” he said.

Mr Shanahan said he’s always been in the hospitality industry.

“I just love to serve people, I love to make people happier, people show love and care in different ways, and I’ve always done that through food and service.

“To feel like you’re hitting the mark and you’re doing what you want to do, and that’s resonating with people, and they’re responding well to it is just a really cool thing,” he said.

Simple Coffee House will be giving away free coffees all morning to celebrate.

Paradox Coffee Roasters Café in Surfers Paradise is also giving away free coffee between 7am to 8am on Tuesday to celebrate International Coffee Day.