Cups Canteen: Mt Duneed Coffee Van embraced by local community
While lockdowns aren’t anybody’s cup of tea, one little coffee van has become an unlikely success story of Victoria’s various Covid-19 outbreaks.
Cups Canteen in Mount Duneed has made the most of a captive audience in the new residential area, growing into a local staple during one of the toughest 12-months in memory for small businesses.
The mum-and-dad cafe, operating Wednesdays to Sundays out of a ‘79 Kombi van parked on the corner of Boundary Rd and Sovereign Drive, has experienced surges of customers during lockdowns, with many staying on as regulars following the easing of restrictions.
Owners Stephanie and Craig Willian put their success down to doing the basics well – good coffee, good homemade baked treats and good service – as well as those trapped at home deciding to try out that little coffee van on the corner they might have otherwise passed.
“We’ve been at it for nearly 12 months now and just slowly grown the whole time, and I’d say we’re now sort of more busy than we’re not,” Mr Willian said on Wednesday.
“We get a lot of exposure through being open through these lockdowns and the amount of people we get coming through. I’d definitely say we are that little bit busier when things do return to normal.
“It was really important for us to be a part of the community and have a genuine connection with the community. So I guess during lockdown when people are tied in those 5km they know they’ve got that face in the community, so there is a real community spirit part of it.
“We must be doing something right, because people keep coming back. Good coffee, good food and good service are three things we really focus on, and I think people really do appreciate that we do put a lot of effort into.”
While the budding business has done especially well in it’s first year, it is not without its challenges for the new parents.
“We’re very new to the business and whatnot, and we’re still a very young business, so that in itself is challenging,” Mr Willian said.
“You then add a very young family and Covid lockdowns when we do get as busy as we do.”
Article published in the Geelong Advertiser on August 12th and can be found here
https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/business/geelong-business/mum-and-dad-coffee-van-becomes-unlikely-success-story-of-geelong-lockdowns/news-story/3a4fc78a5f8398767b7c2210e73a79b0