Latest news with #cafe
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Beer, EFTPOS turned off in Coogee Diggers' Club legal fight
A Coogee Diggers' Club restaurateur will have her day in court on Friday when an arbitration tribunal determines whether the businesswoman should be permitted to continue trading at her recently opened cafe/restaurant. Tina Plessas, proprietor of Cece's cafe/restaurant, is fighting to have the terms of her original contract with the Diggers Club – which is in dispute – upheld and honoured after the club moved to 'forcibly evict' her without notice last month. Ms Plessas alleges Coogee Diggers has violated interim orders made by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) on June 4 granting her the right to resume trading without interference until the June 27 hearing date. The businesswoman alleges the club has acted hostilely by twice turning off her beer supply, changing the restaurant lock, removing tables, introducing party restrictions including a dance and cake 'ban' and contacting her suppliers to request they close her accounts. With a week of trading to go, at the weekend the club disconnected Mr Plessas' EFTPOS facilities. 'It's been a nerve-racking time for myself and my team,' Ms Plessas said told 'We are all walking on eggshells as we don't know when (we) will discover the next act of sabotage. 'My staff and I just want to get on and serve the community and look after our loyal customers and the club members who have supported us. We truly love the community and if we didn't feel our services were appreciated by them I wouldn't continue fighting to remain.' In addition, a frustrated Ms Plessas told the management style of the club's CEO Peter Gallagher had made serving her customers a daily battle. Ms Plessas' fight for professional survival at the club began when the Diggers' CEO abruptly terminated her catering agreement on May 30 and evicted her. Weeks earlier, in March, she had enthusiastically opened the doors to her cafe/restaurant after recruiting 15 of her best former chefs to join her. This came after she was awarded the lease for the Diggers Club's lavishly renovated new downstairs eatery in 2024. According to Ms Plessas, in dispute are two catering contracts the club sent her, one of which stipulated she could trade rent free for the first three-months while establishing her business. An attempt was made in a second contract to delete that clause. The plucky businesswoman claims she has been subjected to a sustained campaign of alleged bullying and intimidation at the club – including attempting to smear her reputation – by attempting to evict her and disrupt her new business. On Thursday the club, through a lawyer, denied the allegations. 'Coogee Diggers is aware of a number of false claims that have recently been made and strongly rejects any suggestion of misconduct or improper behaviour by the club's leadership team,' a spokesman said in a statement. 'The club categorically denies any suggestion of noncompliance with NCAT. These allegations are baseless and no findings of breach have been made by NCAT. Coogee Diggers strongly denies the suggestion it has deliberately obstructed the operations of Cece's.' Ms Plessas believes she is a victim of her own success having taken in the ballpark of $120,000 at Cece's in her first full month of trading in April. According to club sources, Coogee Diggers is under pressure to increase profits after taking out huge bank loans to finance Mr Gallagher's grand vision of creating a premium gym and bar precinct at the 90-year-old community centre. The building work, for a ground floor renovation, cost in excess of $6 million and may, say sources, run as high as $8 million. A hefty, short-term loan with the Commonwealth Bank for $3 million is due for repayment later this year. A second loan, for $1.6 million, was also still on the books in December 2024 when the club released its annual report. One former board director and ex president has called for a forensic audit to be conducted to show club members how the money has been spent.
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
China's pig-intestine latte, a swallowed toothbrush is removed: 5 trending stories
We have selected five Trending in China stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing A cafe in southwestern China has been thrust into the limelight thanks to its newly launched coffee, which is made with cooked pork intestines. A 64-year-old man in China who swallowed a toothbrush when he was 12 years old has finally had it removed from his stomach in an 80-minute surgical procedure. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Douyin A 64-year-old Chinese man who felt a strange sensation in his stomach and went to the doctor was shocked to discover that a toothbrush had been stuck in his intestines for 52 years. The man, surnamed Yang, from eastern China's Anhui province, said he remembered swallowing it at the age of 12 and was too scared to tell his parents about it.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Bedford cafe 'adapts' to reopen after arson destroyed kitchen
Staff at a riverside cafe which was damaged after an arson attack had to "adapt and improvise" to get the business up and running again. Thomas Healey, from The Longholme, on Bedford's Embankment, said its food production areas were left full of "toxic smoke" after the fire in the early hours of Wednesday 18 food and consumables had to be thrown away, but by Saturday, it was serving again with generator power, a coffee trailer and a pop-up Fire and Rescue confirmed its crews were called to the scene and the "cause of the fire was deliberate". The fire started in a bin and spread to the kitchen, which was "100% damaged", the fire service caused "a serious impact on our production areas, mainly due to toxic smoke damage that has compromised all of our stainless steel appliances and surfaces", Mr Healey said. The area has been "completely stripped back to the bones to allow for a commercial deep clean, ahead of repairs and re-fitting". "The damage would shock anyone because from the front, it all looks fine," he added. It reopened in time for the town's Kite and Motoring Festival that took place on 21 and 22 June, but Mr Healey said a reduced menu impacted sales. Mr Healey said: "We have managed to improvise a decent menu, and a pop-up kitchen using event equipment stored off location, the team have adapted with passion and a desire to put everything right again. "We will be back on track ASAP."Insurance companies for Bedford Borough Council, which owns the building, and the cafe are now dealing with the claim. He said his step-father, Adrian Allen, "dropped tools on another personal project to jump in and get the cafe back on course, without this, we would be facing a much longer road to recovery". The support from customers had been "simply fantastic" with hundreds of supportive comments on its social media pages, he fire occurred after the business recently spent £6,000 on "game-changing" flood defences due to its position near a Police has been approached for comment. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
At this small town Minnesota cafe, donkeys are the main attraction
Love donkeys? This Minnesota cafe is for you. Love donkeys? This Minnesota cafe is for you. Love donkeys? This Minnesota cafe is for you. One couple is bringing their beloved animals to New Germany, Minnesota, to create a small town cafe with a surprising twist. "So we've got Rockefeller, and we've got Flapjack. Very friendly and very social. They love to be brushed," Kelley MacNally said, describing her donkeys. These miniature donkeys have spent their entire lives in the country. They live at a farm called Hee-Haw Hollow. But now, a couple of times a week, they turn into downtown donkeys — guests of honor at a new type of cafe. "I'm kind of a crazy donkey lover. I'm very passionate about donkeys. I thought, why not spill this into the cafe?" Kelley MacNally said. So that's what Kelley MacNally and her husband, Brett MacNally, did. Last year, they bought an old bar in New Germany and turned it into the Fancy Farmer. They hope it provides a little kick to the economy. "And we are trying to do this to build the town up. That's what we are trying to do here," Brett MacNally. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Everywhere you look, you see a donkey staring back. "All of the donkey photos in the café are donkeys from our farm," Kelley MacNally said. From pictures to T-shirts — even the guestbook is donkey-themed, as are the drink specials. "One of the summer specials is called 'My Donkey Boy.' We have another coffee drink called 'Donkin Out on Broadway.'" Kelley MacNally said. "I think it's a great idea. It's a wonderful idea for sure," said Jared Ellis, customer. Part of the goal is to educate people about these animals. The MacNallys say donkeys have excellent memories. They can remember people, places, and other donkeys for many years. And here, they'll have plenty of faces to remember. Kelley and Brett MacNally want customers to experience what they experience every day. "We don't get close to them like this, so this is special," said Laura Bennett, a customer. "I think it's very cool. Great for the kids, definitely." The cafe has caught the attention of out-of-towners driving through or even biking by — because when you see these fellas hang out downtown, you've got to stop. "It's unique. It's been amazing. People love it," Brett MacNally said. The café is located on Broadway Street in downtown New Germany, close to the Dakota Rail Regional bike trail. The MacNallys bring their donkeys to the cafe a few times a week. To find out when, you can check out their website.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Vegemite responds to cafe's ‘criminal' toast act
There's nothing that stirs the internet more than a debate about Vegemite. This time, it's a photo of a single piece of sad, sparsely-spread Vegemite toast that's managed to rile everyone up online. The offending slice, costing $6, was posted to Reddit, where it was naturally labelled 'un-Australian,' 'a crime,' and 'an act against the Commonwealth' by hundreds of Aussies. The image showed the takeaway order, which was a thin slice of white bread with a few patchy smears of our nation's beloved condiment clinging to the surface. If there's butter on there, it's most definitely hiding, and the toasting almost seems non-existent. 'Sigh, if you can't make it, don't put it on the menu,' the poster lamented, before calling it an 'abomination'. Reddit users didn't hold back, with one joking, 'This constitutes a clear violation of the National Vegemite Act (1954, amended 1986, 2001 and 2022), Section 2.3'. Another called it 'Vegemaybe' due to the evident half-hearted effort, while others took the joke further and called it 'Vegemightnot'. Even though it looks like the cafe simply waved a jar of Vegemite near the toast and called it a day, some said that fussy Vegemite orderers are to blame, not the cafe. 'You can almost certainly blame this on that one time a customer complained that there was 'too much' Vegemite on the toast and sent it back,' pointed out one user. Then others called out the poster themselves for opting to purchase such a simple dish from a cafe in the first place. 'How hard is it to put bread in the toaster and do it yourself – what a waste of money,' one remarked. Meanwhile, a few brave people admitted they actually thought it was the perfect amount. 'Only needs more butter,' said one user. 'Looks fine to me, even tasty,' wrote someone else, as another admitted, 'That's how I like my Vegemite'. And some simply provided pragmatic responses: 'Look, I agree that it's a pathetic amount of Vegemite but cafes have to cater to the majority. A lot of people prefer just a smattering. It's always easier to add more Vegemite than remove Vegemite. Now you know their baseline, tell them you want more next time,' said one. With the nation's breakfast pride at stake, reached out to the true authority: Vegemite itself. 'At Vegemite, we know that how you enjoy your toast is a deeply personal thing – whether it's a whisper-thin layer or a bold, generous spread, we don't judge!' the brand said. 'Everyone has their own perfect ratio.' It also noted that if you're ever unsure when eating out, asking for your Vegemite on the side is a 'great way to get it just right'. 'Or, for the truly devoted, keeping a personal stash on hand or in the glove box of your car isn't the worst idea – desperate times call for delicious measures!'
