Café Viva receives great support from community across opening weekend

Café Viva began serving its first paying customers on the public holiday for the National Day of Mourning (September 22) and ever since it has seen a steady stream of customers at its window.

The café is a social enterprises initiative of Vivability and chief executive officer Nick Packham has been pleased with the response so far.

"I knew that people would be supportive of the initiative in terms of employment for people with disabilities, but we were also really clear that people may come because of who we are, but they wouldn't come back unless the food and coffee was good," he said.

"It's really nice to get such positive feedback around the coffee. I'm happy with the support and we certainly want the support of the community."

Among the people showing support to the café was the Mercy Associates, who stopped for coffee on Saturday as part of their Mercy Day celebrations.

"We went to mass first and we thought we would come and support Vivability," Sandra Christoffersen said.

Café Viva's employees include 15 people with a disability, who are responsible for various roles in the business.

They are gaining real industry experience and being paid award wages for their work.

Mr Packham said the staff have been enjoying working at the café and have been doing an excellent job even when the place is busy.

"People are feeling really quite comfortable and they coped well," he said of the opening weekend.

"We certainly had a bit of a rush on Sunday when the mass came out of the cathedral, and I think Saturday morning was pretty busy as well, but they did really well and they're really enjoying the opportunity working the café."

Café Viva is located within the grounds of the Cathedral of St Michael and St John.

Customers can get their order to go, or are able to stay for a while at one of the table situated throughout the grounds.

For people in a rush, Café Viva can be found on the HeyYou app, which allows people to place their order remotely so it is ready upon arrival.

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