Territory True Cafe: New Durack eatery giving work opportunities to people with disabilities
A new cafe boasting extended hours, an interactive salad bar, ice cream and damn good pies has a selling point beyond its lakeside outlook: it is giving vital work experience to people living with a disability.
Northern Territory
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A new Palmerston cafe boasting extended hours, an interactive salad bar, ice cream and damn good pies has a selling point above and beyond its picturesque lakeside outlook: it is giving vital work experience to people living with a disability.
Durack-based disability support service Territory True opened its supported employment cafe, Territory True Cafe, on Monday.
The cafe, located at 6/6 Woodlake Blvd, Durack, will eventually offer shifts to approximately ten of Territory True’s 30-odd clients, providing them a no-pressure environment in which to learn soft skills and build confidence.
Territory True’s Kate McMaster, whose 17-year-old son Tom, already a hospitality veteran, is managing the new cafe, said the eatery was set up to fill a “void” in the employment ecosystem for people with a disability.
“There are some really beautiful supported employment businesses out there, like Harry’s Place, where for instance young people can sign up and do a barista or chef course, but what we found is there is a void for the step before that,” Ms McMaster said.
She described that prior step as the “pre-VET experience”.
“Somebody may just want to turn up to work, put on an apron, wipe down a table, and interact with people, which might be really difficult for them,” she said.
“If they come back tomorrow, fantastic, if they decide they can’t do it, they go back to their safe place.”
Territory True participants who arrive to fill a shift alongside their support worker would complement the core group of non-supported staff.
“Therefore, it’s okay if they need to leave early,” she said.
Operating the supported employment business in-house also means that no other businesses have their plans thrown out of whack when a worker is unable to commence or complete their shift.
“If our participants can’t cut it on that day, we’re not letting someone else’s business down, we’ve got it in place that our business can keep ticking along,” Ms McMaster said.
While the supported employment aspect of the cafe is important, bums need to be put on seats to make it work.
To that end, Ms McMaster boasted of the cafe’s lakeside outlook, competitive prices, extended hours from 7am–5pm, interactive salad bar, toys for kids to play while mums catch up over coffee and cake, a la carte breakfast and lunch menu, ice cream, pre-cooked hot meals for workers on the go, and unbeatable pies.
It’s not only Territory True participants gaining vital experience: Tom McMaster, who cooked up his first business as an adolescent and has been accepted into a Bachelor of Business at Charles Darwin University, is in charge of Territory True Cafe.
Mr McMaster, who spent years working in the kitchens at Darwin Ski Club and his family’s Gemtree Roadhouse and Caravan Park, is a key player in the kitchen and was tasked with establishing Territory True Cafe, right down to details like choosing the POS system.
The cafe will be a great on-ramp for when he commences his bachelor next year, he said.
“Having this business will help my understanding,” Mr McMaster said.
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