Daily specials, artisan food events and community spirit make this Sussex Inlet café the place to visit in July.
“This is my first real job in the hospitality industry,” recounts Cassie Relf, one half of the couple who own Little Eadie’s Café in Sussex Inlet – named after their daughter.
“I did have a job as a delivery driver for a Chinese Restaurant, but having no sense of direction didn’t help me. I got lost and wasn’t able to phone the restaurant for help. I got to the house 45 minutes late and in tears. The lovely customers tipped me $20 because they felt sorry for me. I lied to the restaurant and said I hit something and that is why it took me so long to get back. Obviously this was my last shift!”
Shayan Mostaghim on the other hand has worked in hospitality “ever since I had my licence, I have had a hospo-style job, you name it I have done it, delivering pizzas (without getting lost), fine dining, bars, clubs and opening my own location at the age of 23.”
This month (July) is the 1st Birthday for Little Eadie’s Café. Cassie and Shayan have worked so hard to create a space that is beautiful, inviting and well-loved by locals in such a short period of time. Shayan and Cassie say they wouldn’t trade the hard days, difficulty finding staff, family balance and early starts for anything. They want you to feel and see the authentic vision of their offering. “‘Authentic’ was our word, our ethos and mission in this first year of business,” says Cassie.
“Being authentic is something real to us and we want to be authentic in our commitment to our business, our vision and our customers. It has allowed us to create a place where people feel welcome and want to frequent.” Cassie’s dedication to her café, her partner, her daughter and everything she does shines through. Shayan is the pillar of strength in the café, churning out quality coffee and food day in day out that people keep coming back for.
Birthday month is going “full out”, says Shayan. “We are sharing ourselves even more and saying thank you to our customers.” Each day brings a new special at Little Eadie’s, which the team posts on their socials.
A sneak peek of things to come, the café will be celebrating World Milkshake Day, National Lamington Day and International Carrot Day (think carrot cake!). $1 coffees, cakes and treats are a part of these exciting daily deals.
They will finish off the birthday month celebrations with a “Meet the Maker” market on Saturday 27 July, where you will be able to buy and sample products they have used in-house on their delicious and evolving menu. In attendance will be Baeden from Rush Coffee Roasters in Bowral, who will be manning the coffee machine and making what Cass describes as “the best damn coffee you will have in your life”.
The makers and owners from Sussex Sourdough will be there too, offering samples of their delicious bread and White Feather Designs relishes. Another sneak peek that I’ve been told is that there will be free coffee cards hiding in the bags of bread from Sussex Sourdough and for those purchasing from White Feather at the Sussex Inlet Market on Saturday 13 July.
It is this type of community engagement that adds a playful element to this café’s business and the opportunities they create to involve locals.
Cassie’s real passion stems from her previous life as a teacher working with students with additional needs, as well as working with people from impoverished countries around the world. She proudly recounts that her “real true passion” is to help those in African countries. As a teenager, she journeyed to Burundi in East Africa, the poorest country in the world at the time of her visit. She was able to see firsthand the level of poverty these people were living in. “I was the founder of a charity organisation called Orphan’s Eyes helping widows and orphans through my ethos of small, achievable projects. I really believe a lot of people giving a little can make great things happen and save lives which I saw on my trips.”
Though Cassie suggests she doesn’t bring much experience in terms of a background in hospitality, she brings a strong social consciousness and has an amazing ability to connect with people. This is part of the vision by sourcing local ingredients and producers to enhance their café, reputation and standing with the local community.
The couple met while they were both living and working in Shellharbour, Shayan owning and managing a bar and Cassie in a period of finding herself after travelling abroad.
Cassie saw a trivia night advertised at the bar Shayan was managing “and I got a real bee in my bonnet about going to this trivia night, little did I know I was speaking to Shayan when I was booking for my group of friends. My sister decided that she would hand out my number to every guy in the room, being that supportive sibling. By the end of the night, after trivia, my phone rang and it was Shayan asking if I would like to hang out and have a chat.”
Shayan recalls the event saying, “I think she got more than she bargained for coming to trivia that night!”
The couple say they were strong friends for six months before they finally committed to each other and have had an extremely strong bond ever since. They went through the difficulty and heartache of IVF but say they have been blessed with the arrival of their gorgeous daughter Eadie, their sunflower, after whom they named their café. You only have to ask after Eadie and you will hear a joyous answer from both owners, as she is their why for this business.
While baby Eadie is their sunflower, the people of Sussex Inlet feel that this café is our sunflower, it’s exactly the place we need. It’s evident from their story of how they met and their life experiences that they bring so much more than a place for coffee to our community.
Check their Instagram for daily specials, Meet the Maker market info, and exciting collaboration events coming up over the coming months.
