New toastie on the block

JUST off the heart of Mair Street you’ll find Husker Du, a new shop dedicated to toasting sandwiches and pouring coffee.

Having previously opened apparel store, Cami & Co, within the same building, owners Keanan and Sarah Browning thought opening a café would be the best use of the site’s corner shop.

“We opened the clothes shop around seven weeks before lockdown last year, and then we just opened the coffee and toastie shop here,” Ms Browning said.

“My husband makes concrete baths and furniture so originally we were thinking of having this whole warehouse as his workshop but

now, we’re thinking of opening it up to sell furniture and more food, get licensed down the track and house pop up shops in the meantime.

“Originally there was no intention of a coffee or clothing shop, it was just going to be a concrete furniture warehouse but we realised there’s nothing really down here in the way of coffee and food.”

Although owning a hospitality business isn’t the pair’s speciality, Ms Browning said they came up with the idea to open up a toastie place because of their personal preferences.

“The toastie idea came up because we both love toasties and he’s a mad coffee lover,” she said.

“He tried quite a few coffees and ended up going with this one, it’s called Martin Street, from Blackwood, that’s the one we like and everyone else seems to like it.

“At this stage, we’ve only got two toastie flavours, the ham, cheese, tomato and the three cheese but the menu will increase, we’re looking to add a veggie option, a tuna and also a roast beef one.”

Currently trading Mondays to Saturdays, Ms Browning said having only been open for a short time, they’ve already felt an incredible amount of support from customers and the nearby community.

“Ideally this would’ve been open a lot earlier but with the delay due to COVID, it was a little bit later but it’s all done really well now,” she said.

“We’re so lucky to have had the locals helping us and loving it, that’s really what got us through the last year.”