Louise Thoms did not anticipate just how busy her café would become when she opened 10 Hastings Street at Noosa Main Beach in Queensland seven years ago.
“We were living in Portugal when my husband was offered a job in Australia. We arrived in Noosa, where I found this empty space and thought, ‘I might open a café here’,” Louise says. “I had never been in hospitality before, was seven months pregnant, and already had three boys under six. We initially only served coffee and cakes, but it has since grown to seven-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner service.”
Louise and her husband, who left his job to help run the business, have since purchased the restaurant next door to 10 Hastings Street and the motel behind it. They will soon open another two restaurants in Queensland. Louise says a positive working culture and hiring great staff have been key to 10 Hastings Street’s popularity and success.
“The best thing about the café is its vibe, which comes from having staff from all around the world with great personalities that provide good service,” Louise says. “Everyone says we have the best coffee on Hastings Street, and I think it’s because we only employ baristas with lots of experience who can handle the high volume.”
For the last few years, 10 Hastings Street has served Toby’s Estate’s Broadway as its house blend. Louise says the coffee works for a wide range of taste preferences.
“People really prefer Toby’s Estate. We tried a few different blends, and Broadway had a smooth quality to it. Our customers are 85 per cent tourists, so we didn’t want to go to an extreme and only attract a niche audience,” she says.
But Louise adds, the coffee has still attracted a small group of regular aficionados to the café.
“Toby’s attracts quite a lot of serious coffee drinkers, ordering anything from a simple espresso to a double shot piccolo, but at the same time we haven’t lost that crowd who want a mug full of milky coffee,” she says.
Beyond the stellar coffee offering, 10 Hastings Street attracts customers with its open and beachy aesthetic and live music six nights a week. Seasonal food offerings feature ingredients sourced from local farmers and suppliers.
With Louise’s business set to grow even further, she says her plan is “to keep modernising and changing, while keeping the things that make it good”.
10 Hastings Street
10 Hastings Street, Noosa, Queensland, 4567
Open Monday 7am to 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday 7am to late
(07) 5455 3350