Quiet suburban cafe The Junction fuelling the Burdell school run

Hiding your cafe on a quiet suburb’s backstreet doesn’t sound like a good idea - but this much-loved spot has used its peaceful location to tap into a hungry customer base. See how.

Junction Cafe½ owner Kayla Schofield. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Hiding your cafe on a quiet suburb’s backstreet isn’t a common business idea - but Junction Cafe in Burdell has used its peaceful location to tap into a hungry customer base.

Opened 2022 by busy Mount Low mum Kayla Schofield, Junction Cafe was managed to do what most cafes can’t - survive the first year.

“My husband and I were dropping our kids off at daycare everyday and we saw this vacant little cafe spot and we thought, why not add some more pressure to our lives?” Mrs Schofield joked.

“Neither of us had worked in hospitality before. It took about a year for us to find out feet but once we did, it became very rewarding.”

Running a cafe in a quiet corner of new suburb (literally the last street before the suburb turns to bushland), with no other shops nearby, has created a ‘pros and cons’ effect.

Junction Cafe½ owner Kayla Schofield. Picture: Shae Beplate.

On one hand, the regulars become even more regular, and on the other hand, 99 per cent of Townsville don’t know Junction Cafe exists.

The strategy seems to be working out for Mrs Schofield, who now employs 13 casual staff to keep the cafe running through the daycare rush, school rush, and weekend brunch rush.

“We don’t actually have a kitchen, which most people don’t realise. We specialise in grab and go - we’ve got a sandwich press, a speed oven, a coffee machine, it is impressive what you can actually do without a kitchen,” she said.

“We get a lot of our stuff straight from local bakeries.”

On the menu at Junction Cafe. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Among the babyccinos, large milkshakes, toasties, and cheesecake tarts - one items stands out as Burdell’s favourite.

“Our biggest seller by far is the breakfast burrito,” Mrs Schofield said.

“We make a lot of them, and it’s so popular on the weekend, it’s crazy.”

A breakfast burrito consists of bacon, eggs, hashbrown, cheese, and relish, all wrapped up in a tortilla and ready to eat in your hand while you take the dog for a morning walk.

On the menu at Junction Cafe. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“We’ve got a very good little community out here,” Mrs Schofield said.

“At school drop off its families, during the day we get a lot of older people who gather here, NOTCH will meet in our space, and also defence groups come to the cafe. On the weekends we get a lot of parties in the park who will come over and buy from us.”

The small space Junction Cafe operates out of was built by the suburb’s developer, Stocklands, and it sits inside Junction Park, in front of the display village, and beside Green Leaves Early Learning and North Shore State School.

“At the moment we’re on the edge of the development,” Mrs Schofield said.

“But one day we will be in the centre.”

On the menu at Junction Cafe Picture: Shae Beplate.

Land is already being cleared behind North Shore State School to make way for the upcoming Amity Village development.

Now, Mrs Schofield is looking to add even more life to the busy community atmosphere in the park every weekend, opening part of her space up to a pop-up stall.

2025: Satellite image of Rockingham Dr and North Shore State School. Junction Cafe is marked by the red pin.

“We get pop-up stalls out here sometimes, anyone that approaches me, I can give them a space for free,” she said.

“There used to be markets out here but they’ve stopped, so it’s a good way to bring a little bit of that back.”

The Junction Cafe can be found at 5 Rockingham Dr, Burdell.

Open 7am to 1pm everyday.

Originally published as Quiet suburban cafe The Junction fuelling the Burdell school run