The Car Yard Café serves up social inclusion with lunch and coffee in Derwent Park
Angela is all set to serve you a morning coffee at the Car Yard Café.
ABC Radio Hobart: Carol Rääbus
A fresh social enterprise café has opened on the Main Road in Derwent Park, providing the area with a much-needed stop off for coffee, sandwiches, cakes — and smiles.
The Car Yard Café is a fresh venture by Aurora Disability Services and offers training and work practice for people with disabilities.
Photo Sam loves to bake. Melting moments and Anzac biscuits are her favourite.
Aurora Disability Services has been running the Old Chapel Tearooms in Glenorchy for many years.
Joy Cairns, founder and director of Aurora, said the café environment provided clients with a hands-on training practice in silver service hospitality.
“It’s been established to give people more diversity, to give them good opportunities for learning and developing,” she said.
Photo AJ with Joy Cairns at the Car Yard Café.
“The other reason that it’s been established is because the community, at this point in time . they’re not providing the opportunities for supported employment or open employment opportunities.”
The fresh café is decked out in car-themed décor and the counter is stocked with fresh salad sandwiches, quiches, pies and sweet treats.
The food is made by Aurora’s clients in the puny but spotless kitchen with help from support workers.
Photo Laurie prepares sausage rolls from scrape with help from Sia.
All functions of the café are run by the clients too, from maintaining the outdoor seating area to staffing the sales counter.
Ms Cairns said having a café like this which served the general public could help switch people’s opinions towards those with disabilities.
“We need to switch attitudes,” she said.
Photo Anne waits for the lunchtime customers at the service counter.
“We want the community to be educated to see that they can contribute, they can contribute to our economy, they can contribute to their local communities.
“We feel that if our community patronise us, that we’re going to succeed.
“We’re hoping that we’re going to be here for a long time.”
The Car Yard Café will officially open on March fifteen but is already welcoming patrons in for snacks and lunches on weekdays from 9:30am to Two:30pm.