NOT YOUR AVERAGE CUP

From bonus brews to suspended coffee, these Coast cafes are rewriting the caffeine ritual

Canteen Social is giving free afternoon coffees to Bundall office workers and residents if they beat cafe staff at a game of rock, paper, scissors.

More than 40 coffees were given away on the house when the initiative was first trialled earlier this month and it has now become a regular feature at the Wyndham Corporate Centre eatery.

Canteen Social food and beverage manager Angus Dunbar says the idea is to give workers a second wind at a flat time of the afternoon, while Angus Dunbar and Karlee Baston at Canteen Social.

also increasing trade in the quieter hour between 2-3pm.

“We hold rock, paper,

scissors competitions sporadically and it allows us to have a bit of fun with our customers while increasing their awareness of our offerings,” Angus said.

“Our customers have loved the idea and we have had a lot of fun interacting with them, although I think we need a bit more practice because we are giving away a lot of coffee.”

Scottish-born William McCallum and his wife Miranda took over a Nerang Street Mall cafe about 10 weeks ago, rebranding to Alba Cafe and introducing Suspended Coffee.

Also known as pay-itforward coffee, customers are invited to pay for an additional coffee on top of their own, which will then be offered to a member of the homeless community.

William says it’s a common concept in Europe and even Melbourne, but not so common here – something he’d like to change.

“Being European it kicked off over there a long time ago, but when we got to the Gold Coast we noticed it wasn’t very common,” he says.

“When we came up here from South Australia I had a meeting with St Vincent de Paul and got an idea of statistics and the local community.

“There are a lot of homeless and quite poor people around, so especially while it gets colder I think it’s important we do this.

“There are a lot of people being overlooked. It’s paradise here but it’s hell for some people so we need to start spreading the love around to everyone.”