The Smiths Beach General Store has been part of Phillip Island for a long time. It's the kiosk you'd stop at for a paper, a sausage roll, and a bag of ice on the way back from the beach. Most days it was the first place open and the last place to close.
It's in new hands now — ours — and we wanted to write a few lines about what we're doing, what we're not, and what people can expect over the next few months.
"The brief is simple. Keep the kiosk a kiosk. Make the coffee better. Make the food worth the drive."
What we're keeping
The muffins. The bacon and egg rolls. The sausage rolls — same recipe, baked here. The Friday-night fish and chips. The newspapers. The whole feel of a working general store, not a polished cafe.
What we're sharpening
Properly pulled coffee, every time, on a La Marzocco. Fresh bread from local Bass Coast bakeries, in by 7am. House-made everything — pies, sandwiches, the daily specials. A small pantry range, but every product on the shelf for a reason.
What's coming
Online ordering so you can skip the queue when the carpark fills up in summer. Gift vouchers for friends who haven't been down yet. A short menu that changes with the season, and a longer story about who's behind it.
The beach is the point
This isn't a destination cafe. It's a beach kiosk that serves people heading down the path with their boards under their arm, families on a Saturday driving down for the day, locals who've been coming here for thirty years. Everything we do is in service of that.
We open at 7. We close when the last car leaves. Come down and say hello.
— Kade