Food and culture have always been at the core of Rowena Corner Store. Owner Con Coustas says the ‘recipe’ of the café is a “hefty serving of traditional Mediterranean provincial cooking, add a splash of international goodness, a pinch of modern innovation, and simmer slowly over a warm Richmond flame”.
When stage three lockdowns required Rowena Corner Store to shift its business model, the café found new ways to serve the Richmond community. It has expanded its Mama’s Meals take-home menu, which features a variety of ready-to-go meals, and offers this alongside coffee and pastries from a walk-through window.
“While our 100-seater café is gone, we have changed our focus into grocery and our takeaway business,” Con says. “For us, our kitchen pantry has now been turned into a source of income.”
With the good food comes great coffee. Rowena Corner Store has that covered with the Grinders Coffee Source blend. The Fairtrade and Organic certified blend has a fruity taste when black and cuts through milk with sweet caramel and malt notes.
Like the rest of the Grinders community, Rowena Corner Store has been offered the Grinders Care Kit, which provides customers with tools and tips to help them operate in these uncertain times.
This includes marketing support, social media tips and tricks, the latest information on government stimulus packages, and mental health support. The kit aims to provide cafés with the know-how to start a conversation and keep people connected.
Rowena Corner Store’s motto during the pandemic has been όλοι μαζί, Greek for ‘all together’. Con says this has and will continue to guide the business.
“Our managers are meeting every day to discuss any new government measures, speak with our staff, look at our numbers from the previous day, but also challenging our creativity and innovation,” Con says.
Rowena Corner Store
44 Rowena Parade, Richmond, Victoria, 3121
Open seven days 8am to 2pm
(03) 9421 3262