What began as a small coffee van at a little park in Morley almost five years ago has now grown into a much-loved community hub on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia.
Owner Deeahn Mercer, who made the career switch from working in health and fitness on cruise ships, said a COVID break sparked the idea to return to her earlier work in hospitality.
Almost two years later to the day of opening, Deeahn got the keys to her very own bricks-and-mortar store: a stone’s throw away from the van’s original location.
“Our goal was always to be a place that everyone can afford a coffee,” she says.
A unique aspect of Dancing Duck & Co is its collection of duck paraphernalia – including a King Charles duck, which a customer brought back from the United Kingdom. Deeahn jokes the theme is “not how [she] planned it” but loves that the community has gotten around the idea.
“It’s probably overflowing with little rubber ducks the children now play with,” she says.
“We’ve got a few music legends that are ducks, and ones that people have brought back from their travels and thought of us, which is pretty special.”
A partner of The Alternative Dairy Co. since the café’s inception, Deeahn says the long-term relationship began when she was working at another café and the local representative used to visit.
“When I took the leap into running my own café, it was a no-brainer to reach out to them,” she says. “James Cockroft has been my go-to in so many ways since we started.”
Deeahn says a rewarding part of opening Dancing Duck & Co is working with her staff, which all are part of the community.
“They started off as customers; they’re kids that have now progressed into loyal staff that I have – most of them have been with me from the time we transitioned to the café, and even one that’s been with me since the van days,” she says.
And with majority of Dancing Duck & Co’s customers being regulars – arriving “almost to the minute”, Deeahn says, “we would be questioning where they are, or worried about them” if they didn’t arrive.
“We’ve watched many marriages, pregnancies, births, and first days of school – all of which become part of a beautiful conversation continued each day,” she says.
Dancing Duck & Co
2/69 Lincoln Rd, Morley, Western Australia, 6062
Open Monday to Friday, 5.30am to 2pm,
Saturday and Sunday 6am to 2pm.
