dal santos deli, ayr

The billboard ion the approach to town sad  “the best Italian deli this side of Milan” so of course I had to go there! The day I arrived Carla Dal Santos and her well trained and knowledgeable team were celebrating their 12^th birthday as a boutique deli, not surviving, but thriving in the small cane town of Ayr.

“ We have grown from strength to strength because of the people.” The people of the town and increasingly, visitors, stop and shop with us. When we began 12 years ago, everyone told me “ don’t do it. Don’t walk, Run away!” But, I had grown up in Ingham, another North Queensland cane town that had successful delis, and my sister still has a great deli there. I figured if it could work there, it could work here, and time has proven my hunch to be right”.

The Dal Santos Deli journey has been a busy one, with Carla having raised 4 children during these 12 years. The store is packed with all manner of gourmet goodies, a huge continental section, an extensive gluten free range and a fantastic hamper selection.

Each year Carla and her team travel to food fairs and expos to seek and source delectables to bring home to share with the lucky people of Ayr.

Dal Santos Deli is a remarkable testament to innovation, hard work, tenactity and great salesmanship. Thank you, Carla and team for your passion, your drive and your great taste!

royal private hotel, charters towers

If you are ever looking for a place to stay in Charters Towers that is clean, comfortable and takes you back in time, make a bee line for the royal private hotel.

Patricia Goulding and Tony Papile are big givers with huge hearts! For many years they have operated single room accomodation in Townsville, particularly caring for men in crisis, and working closely with Red Cross.

“Friends told us about this tumble-down hotel that was offering very basic acomodation. They said they thought we would like the building,  so we came out to have a look, and we were goners! We began the big task of restoration and opened the doors again in August 2009” Patricia said.

Every room has been lovingly restored, each with its own individual theme. “ We try to create a home away from home for the people who stay with us. We are not modern, but we care about each other, and it rubs off on the guests, who all look out for each other. We have a communal kitchen and guests will often cook meals for each other, it’s a really nice family feel, that people can feel like thay are coming home to” Patricia said.

“Well, if you can’t help someone else at our age, its pretty sad” is the humble and matter of fact way Patricia describes the work they do.

peppers café and catering charters towers

We were hungry, the place was buzzing with locals, which is always a good sign, and so we ordered two “ big breakfasts” and took a seat in the pleasant and traditional country café. Soaking up the warm and welcoming atmosphere we watched the passing parade, appreciated local art on the walls, and enjoyed observing the charming unhurried mood of fellow diners as we the awaited our meals. 

Now I can tell you I am a very big eater, and rarely ever leave any of my meal behind, but this meal was country cooking with gusto!  in a  word, it was YUM!

Anne Howell was on the till, the proud new Peppers owner of 3 months. No newcomer to the task, Anne had worked for the previous owners for the past 13 years. “ We make everything on site. We do catering, mainly finger food and can seat up to 45 in our cafe. Another Annie, who is 75 years old, comes in twice a week to make her specialty – pasties. Annie has been making these pasties for the past 13 years, it is her passion, and everyone loves them”.

House specialties include apple and apricot pie, quiche and an ever changing selection of country favourites.

If you are ever in Charters Towers and looking for a real meal, Peppers is the place to go!

railway hotel ravenswood

If walls could talk, you would want to pull up a pretty comfortable pew and settle in with a cold beer or ten to here the yarns, myths and legends at the Railway Hotel, Ravenswod.

It was here, that we met the youngest barmaid in the north, 13 year old Chanitha Pang. The Pangs are the 6^th family to operate this historic pub. Established in the heady gold rush days of 1902, thus grand dame has been family owned and operated as an independent hotel without any closure for its entire life.

Grandma does the cooking, Grandpa is the rouseabout, while Chanitha’s mum, Melissa is the manager and self appointed peace keeper.

“ I really love it. we get our regulars and have our share of blow-ins” Mellissa said. “ Halloween is a big hit”. We asked Melissa about the other operating pub in town, The Imperial. “ The previous owners of these two pubs have been fierce enemies, but since we took over 9 weeks ago we have set about building bridges, and its great”.

Ravenswood itself is a tiny heritage listed town, with a population of 300. Filled with character and characters of the real Australian bush, Ravenswood is quaint, historic, totally authentic, architecturally spectacular, and well worth the drive! 

harveys range tea rooms

our first stop on our road trip landed us in Townsville. On our first weekend there we took the delightful drive to Harvey’s Range Tea Rooms, home of the famous $50 cup of coffee. If you are ever in the neighbourhood, do yourself a huge favour and make time to discover this haven for yourself.

In 2005 Alan and Michelle Sharpe with their sons Dominic and …. took a bold leap of faith, and moved into the then derilect building that is now the Tea Rooms, with a dream to create a delicious visitor destination. With steely determination and true grit they have breathed new life and added incredibly colourful chapters of their own to the history and character of this spectacular and historic site.

Complete with resident ghosts, the Harvey Range Tea Rooms is now a” must do” drive for locals and visitors to Townsville. Famous for many things, including the $50 KOPI LEEWAK coffee they serve, Harvey Range Tea Rooms is a sanctuary to escape to, a unique wedding and function venue and a totally delightful day out! do it! you will be very glad you did!

arcadia store. magnetic island

Most of us can only dream of living and working on a tropical island. For Julie Carmody, her family have been doing just that since the 1940’s! An Island girl, Julie runs Arcadia Store with her partner, Clayton, who discovered more than a mooring when he sailed into the Magnetic Harbour several years ago.

The island, the girl and the business are all dynamic, exciting and individual. Julie is a foodie. full stop. A lady who has spent many years on the mainland in fine foods, Julie really knows her stuff. The Island is unspoilt, incredibly beautiful and a tonic for anyone who loves nature. The business is bursting with taste sensations sourced by Julie from foodies and providores near and far.

If you are ever on the island, put arcadia store on your shopping list!

a bit of our HISTORY

coffee works time line part one

the early days…

1988 the local Australian coffee growing industry is in its infancy. we begin as boutique roasters at Rusty’s markets, cairns. we’re called ARABICAS NQ, AKA: “the coffee man” to people at the markets !

1990 by now we are marketeers, providors to several restaurants in Cairns, we have one souvenir product, Queensland Blue. we’re receiving mail order requests from people who discovered us on their holiday in cairns. they spill the beans about us to family and friends and mail order begins to grow. we’re so excited and proud to be offering this exciting service. ideas are percolating to think of a HOT name to call it…and, one morning, in the shower …‘roast & post’ springs to mind!

92-94 we give our name and our label a makeover, grow our range of local gift coffees from 1 to 9 and  ARABICAS COFFEE AUSTRALIA [ that’s us, from our kitchen table!] starts to send show & tell parcels to the big guns, Australia wide!

94 we crack a few serious accounts: Duty Free Shoppers, Myer, David Jones. it’s all done by us, from home, with 3 little kids. we’re still working full time at other jobs, doing the markets on weekends, living on love + plenty of caffeine!

95 we take a leap of faith and give up our day jobs to concentrate on coffee. the kids fit in there somewhere, between the broken sleep and coffee sacks!

96 we outgrow our shed at home, and become 1 of 4 tennants on our current COFFEE WORKS site. its just a bare block, not a tree or blade of grass in sight. we paint walls, plant trees, run irrigation, make do with whatever we have and set about developing a big range of blends, supplying gift hamper companies, creating private label coffees for some big names and are joined by our first 2 full time team members. phew! thank you, guys!

97 we’re starting to outgrow our corner of the rented space. our landlord kindly builds us an extension, for extra storage, but, by the time its done, we have another plan… and COFFEE WORKS is born!

next issue… we fling open our front door to the world!

the people you meet on the road…