IT is hoped a pop-up coffee van could be the start of the long-awaited activation of McPhillamy Park.
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The Little Vintage Blends coffee caravan will begin serving customers from the top of Mount Panorama on a trial basis, starting from Tuesday, April 16.
For now, it will be a one-day-a-week trade, but if there is enough support, business owner Nikita Stewart is keen to add more days over time.
![Jock Alexander, Kali McArtney, Nikita Stewart and Jess Jennings with the Little Vintage Blends coffee van in McPhillamy Park. Picture by James Arrow Jock Alexander, Kali McArtney, Nikita Stewart and Jess Jennings with the Little Vintage Blends coffee van in McPhillamy Park. Picture by James Arrow](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gfyFBZ2A3aREPWrpf4KzA3/24c00301-cfbd-41cc-b24d-41e6826165fb.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Once we, hopefully, get a bit of an audience, we will definitely look at increasing that to two, three days and then more of a permanent thing if there is an audience there," she said.
Why here, why now
For years, Jess Jennings has advocated for the McPhillamy Park precinct to be activated for the benefit of both Bathurst residents and visitors.
One of the elements of his vision, which he spoke of at length in 2021, was for the abandoned control tower that overlooks Brock's Skyline to be turned into a cafe or bistro.
Since becoming mayor in September, 2023, he has met with all of Bathurst council's directors to get to work on the idea.
However, instead of getting a plan together, he learned that what he wanted was practically impossible.
"There was just so much red tape around it that it was simply impossible to go down that path," he said.
"Then having realised that that was not an option, I thought, well, the next best thing has got to be just activating spaces that are already used for that kind of use up at McPhillamy Park, so, for example, the area between Castrol Tower and the play equipment.
"That already gets used during race times. There's a hard stand there, there's power, there's water, so food vans already do dispense from there."
When he came across Little Vintage Blends, he got talking to Ms Stewart and saw an opportunity to achieve his new vision.
"It seems to me that the diversity of people up there should be able to sustain food and drink, really, for quite a few days a week, if not every day a week," Cr Jennings said.
Ms Stewart can definitely see a market on the mountain as well.
"At the moment, the Mount doesn't actually offer anything in regards to food or cold/hot beverages, so I wanted to be able to bring something to that area, especially because a lot of Bathurst tourists drive around the Mount, walk around the Mount, run, cycle, all of the above, and it's a hot attraction," she said.
"We wanted to bring something to it that's not just driving around, and then people are able to enjoy the view up the top where we're going to be situated and make it more of a pit-stop rather than a one-lap around."
What's on offer
Little Vintage Blends is about more than just coffee.
While people will be able to pick up their favourite brew in McPhillamy Park, there will also be hot food and sweet treats available.
![Little Vintage Blends owners Nikita Stewart inside the coffee van. Picture by James Arrow Little Vintage Blends owners Nikita Stewart inside the coffee van. Picture by James Arrow](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gfyFBZ2A3aREPWrpf4KzA3/9e149fc7-a7a2-4f19-99ec-67072416803b.jpg/r0_61_5472_3137_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ms Stewart also plans to have seating nearby so people can take a break and enjoy the view.
"It's got a really lovely view," she said.
The coffee van will operate from 7.30am to lunch time on Tuesdays, with the operating day subject to change depending on popularity.
"We might look at changing it if Tuesdays don't work and there is a better day," Ms Stewart said.
"It's really a touch-and-go basis at the moment, just trial and error to see what's going to work and what's going to be best for the community."
To stay up to date with any changes, stay tuned to Little Vintage Blends' Facebook and Instagram pages.