Knoxbrooke Coffee

The Warragul cafe with inclusion at its heart

Playful banter is alive and well in this joyous cafe. It’s a popular spot, and the employee’s enthusiasm and energy is infectious.

Gentle sunlight spills through the large windows as I sit sipping my chai latte, while looking out at the expansive views of Civic Park. There is ample space between cafe tables to accommodate prams, walking frames and wheelchairs. Laughter from behind the counter rises and falls against the boppy, cheerful background music. The vibe here is fun — more than you’ll find in your typical cafe.

You may be wondering though, do they make a good coffee? As a regular here, I can honestly say they do, and consistently. They also serve delicious sweet treats, toasted sandwiches and healthy salads.

This unique, social enterprise is run by Knoxbrooke, an organisation that provides employment, development and support services for people with diverse abilities. Previously known as ‘Coffee Vibes’, the cafe was recently rebranded as ‘Knoxbrooke Coffee.’

Kelly Sheehan has been the cafe manager since it first opened in May, 2022. It was a big change for her from running her own mobile coffee business. She said Knoxbrooke’s purpose is not just to offer employment, but to offer meaningful employment. “For it to be meaningful it needs to be engaging and serving a purpose as well as allowing people to learn and expand their skill set. Sometimes people fall into jobs where they’re just paid to do repetitive, boring tasks, but those jobs have few growth opportunities. We believe people deserve more than that.

“The business has grown from having only two supported employees when we opened, to now having ten.”

She said some people have a misconception that it’s a training facility or a set program, which it isn’t. “This is a cafe first. We’re not playing shops, we’re doing real-life work here and there is no end date.”

When asked if that created quite a balancing act, she explained, “We need to make sure we’re delivering quality products and service whilst maintaining a supported environment for our staff to work in. Both sides are very important for us to continue being successful.”

The business opened after the Baw Baw Shire Council decided that the space next to the foyer in the Warragul Arts Centre was to be filled with something community orientated. “We have many different groups meet here, because they can grab a coffee and sit in the comfortable chairs in the large, open space in the foyer,” Kelly said. “We have countless mums’ groups, a multicultural social group, a men’s social group as well as walking groups that stop in after their exercise. These groups come in on a regular basis so we’ve definitely achieved what the council wanted.”

Another thing the customers love is the accessibility. There is ample parking nearby and ramps. Inside the cafe, the largest wheelchairs can come through without anyone having to ask for tables or chairs to be moved. Kelly said, “We want to save people from having that awkward interaction.”

Bella, an employee aged 21 years, had volunteered at Vinnies before she landed a job at the cafe. Before that, she was the only person in her family who didn’t have paid employment. She saw her sisters going to work and reflected, “I was dying for a proper job.”

Bella is pretty proud of her title as ‘Milkshake Queen’, which she earnt after the Snowfest event where she smashed out a record of 40 milkshakes. Bella’s strong work ethic and bright, bubbly personality shine through, and she grinned as she said, “It means a lot to me working here. We’re unstoppable. When it’s busy, our team work makes the dream work.”

The staff are employed under the NDIS supported employment model. It’s regulated by independent assessors and they offer employment coaches that give them one to one support. Kelly said, “We have a supervisor dedicated to the support and development of our employees. We also accommodate shorter shifts to help the staff stay engaged and not feel overwhelmed.”

For Nathan, another employee, also aged 21 years, working gives him a sense of purpose and a reason to get out of bed. His cheeky side shined through when he said one of his duties was “stirring people up.” When asked how he feels when he’s at work, he replied “spot on” with two thumbs up and a huge smile. His most memorable moment at the cafe was when some of his old teachers from high school came in and he took their orders. Nathan has developed a range of skills not only in hospitality, but also in body language and social skills.

Kelly said “Many exciting opportunities have arisen for our staff, including being interviewed for local news and public speaking at events. Bella even spoke at last year's ‘Inspiring Young Women’ event in Drouin. The personal growth that we have seen in our staff has been phenomenal.”

Working at Knoxbrooke Coffee can be a way for people with disabilities to gain experience that allows them to enter the open workforce. But there are also some employees who will work at the cafe longterm because they need that supported environment.

“Our goals were staff-centred and about getting individuals into meaningful employment. » individuals into meaningful employment."

However, something we’ve achieved that wasn’t part of our plan has been giving the public an opportunity to see people with a disability, work and contribute in a meaningful way in the workplace.”

Though it’s difficult to measure, Kelly believes they have helped break down the stigma of disability. “When customers come in, it may be their first experience interacting with someone with a disability and it has helped them see the staff’s abilities rather than their disabilities.”

Knoxbrooke Coffee is branching out, having recently opened their second cafe at Warragul Community Aged Care. It will serve residents but will also be open to the public. “It’s so exciting because it will allow us to give more people employment opportunities.”

The saying ‘your staff are your greatest asset,’ definitely applies in this thriving social enterprise business. “I have never in my entire working life worked alongside people who are so conscientious. They truly value their jobs.”

In fact, Kelly described one of her unexpected challenges has been helping the employees to identify when it’s not appropriate to come to work because they’re sick. She laughed. “They just love coming so much and don’t want to miss a single shift.” gl

Knoxbrooke Coffee

Address

Cnr Albert & Smith St’s. Warragul, VIC

Opening hours

Monday–Friday

8.00am–3.00pm Sat & Sun CLOSED

Phone

0448 352 946

Email coffeevibes@ knoxbrooke.com.au

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