Couple finds meaning in community and café mix

Nambour Social Business Feature
by Tanya Outridge

Stephen Gallen and Sarah Hartley moved right out of their comfort zones into hospitality when they took over Nambour Social in May.

But the couple are loving the change of direction and the newly found sense of purpose the change has allowed.

Stephen is a plumber by trade while Sarah had been working as an Occupational Therapist. “And while there were lots of great aspects to each of our careers, we were feeling a nudge to do something of our own,” Sarah said. “We have a blended family, and wanting to spend more time with our children was another factor in our decision to make the change.”

Stephen had been a long-time customer of the popular Nambour Social in Currie Street, and when it came on the market he saw the potential to continue to build the business and embrace the warm sense of community that had been fostered by the previous owners.

“A good deal of my OT work was in the disability space and I am excited to explore ways in which I can continue to support those people via Nambour Social,” Sarah said.

“It may be in work experience opportunities, or living skills, I’m not sure yet as it is very early days for us, and we are going through an enormous learning curve.”

The team at Nambour Social have shown Sarah and Stephen the ropes and it has been a natural extension of the couple’s love of food and eating well.

“We are so excited to support our wonderful team, to deliver customer service and to be of service in any way we can in our community.”

The couple plans to expand the menu, including the ‘grab and go’ cabinet options.

“We will be introducing more salads, comforting winter warmer dishes and favourites from the last menu,” she said. “There will be toasties with a twist and we will continue to support local suppliers. We would also love to hear from people about what they would like to see on the menu.

 “All of our food is prepped in house, and I have to say that making beautiful food, baking, and seeing our customers enjoying what we have made, has been extremely rewarding. We both wanted to live in a way that was exciting, creative, but most importantly, purposeful, and I think we have found it.”

Nambour Social is at 59 Currie Street, Nambour. You can follow them on Facebook or Instagram at @namboursocial 

Sarah and Stephen “making beautiful food, baking, and seeing our customers enjoying what we have made, has been extremely rewarding.”