KOMBI COFFEE IN A CANTER

Now trying this tongue-twister three times fast: Kombi coffee Cups Canteen.

Not as easy as it might look. Unlike the silken blends dispensed from the 1979 T2 Kombi, at Villawood’s Armstrong Mount Duneed by coffee aficionados Craig and Stephanie Willian.

That’s a much smoother proposition. And a welcome one, too, as this intrepid pair have discovered with their new Cups Canteen.

Opening an outdoor coffee and cakes outlet in a brisk pandemic spring takes a certain conviction. For Craig and Steph, however, it was all worthwhile.

“But our first weekend, we could not have anticipated the interest and support from the community,” Craig laughs, more than happy to be swamped by new customers.

“This was Stephanie’s brainchild. She found the Kombi in Torquay last December. In March, we started the fit-out and conversion.”

Stephanie’s ambition was driven her pastry chef skills. Craig, after 14 years in the Army as a sparkie and manager, had returned home to Geelong from Townsville looking for a change from khakis to brownies.

Setting up shop wasn’t a simple proposition. Landscaping, garden beds, pathways, marquee, electricity, thunderbox, health department checks are just some of the considerations for what looks like a simple lifestyle idyll: kicking back with a Kombi plying coffee by the side of the road.

“It’s been a marathon,” says Craig.

“The Kombi needed a dividing wall, a benchtop, new flooring, electrics, pumps, water and waste tanks, a sink …”

None of it’s stopped Stephanie from belting out a swag of tempting muffins, brownies, cookies, banana bread and other mouth-watering diversions amid it all.

Opening in September, with its regulation four seasons in one day, the weather’s been a touch challenging. But if the customers can tackle it, so can they.

You’ll find Cups Canteen at the corner of Sovereign and Boundary, open Wednesdays through Sundays, weekdays 6am to 2pm, weekends 7 am to 2pm.

And don’t pass over those brownies, you’ll regret it if you miss them.