The Flinders Ranges Council has just added new outdoor platforms to bustling cafe Flinders Food Co, which serves up delicious local SA produce.
Owned by some of the regions finest achievers, Doogal Hannagan and Louise Lynch, the cafe is continuing to thrive after its major renovations in 2021.
“We were expanding really quickly after we opened in 2018 and we wanted to extend the life of the historical building. We were originally at capacity of 40 people and now it’s 160,” co-owner Louise Lynch says.
Located 400km North of Adelaide, Flinders Food Co is serving up a range of dishes flavoured with native ingredients such as quandongs, lemon myrtle, wattle seed and bush tomato.
“We change the menu seasonally and offer a native twist to all of the food. We love to showcase what South Australia has to offer through our dishes,” Louise says.
Co-owners and life partners, Doogal and Louise, both grew up locally in Leigh Creek and Hawker but after living elsewhere and travelling the world decided to come back.
“We knew we could do something really special in SA and then saw this place for sale and knew in our hearts it was time to come back,” Louise says.
The cafe has exceeded their own and everyone’s else’s expectations and become a popular stop for those on the journey North through Arkaroola, Wilpena, the Strzelecki Track, plus people heading up to Alice Springs or Darwin.
“Tourism is the reason that we are here. Hawker has small population of roughly 200 people, so tourism is the reason we do what we do. We want to be able to show people what they can find out here,” Louise says.
The cafe not only has amazing high quality food, boutique beer, cider and delicious coffee, but also pays homage to its location with its expansion incorporating the old with the new and using recycled materials.
“With the renovation of the building we really wanted to keep its character. We did the demolition ourselves so we could save and recycle all the wood, tine and roof to re-use,” Louise says.
“We even used all local builders and electricians to keep the work centralised to people in the community”.
Doogal and Louise are excited by how far they have come in five years and look forward to welcoming people from around the state, interstate and abroad.
Cafe: Flinders Food Co
Where: 66 Elder Terrace, Hawker, SA, Australia, South Australia
Open: 7:30am-3:00pm (closed on Monday)
For more information on Flinders Food Co and to book a table, click here.
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