As Travel & Adventure 195 ventures into the the world of hospitality, FOCUS talks with the team about their new and exciting venture, CAFÉ 195, and now having two shops opposite each other in the middle of the mall.

We hear that you have a new venture opening in the mall. Can you tell us about it …

We’ve had the Travel Agency and Travel & Adventure Store for five years, and we’ve been in the mall a year. Recently the opportunity arose to expand across the mall into a café. So, here we are with a new adventure. We like to think the “195 Experience” is all about travel, adventure and food. We see it as, 1 world, 9 ways to see and experience it and 5 senses to excite, and we want people to be able to dream, taste, discover and hopefully explore the world.

So why a café?

Well for a start, both Scot and Neal are trained chefs, and one day we noticed Café Midale had closed. It’s directly opposite our Travel Agency and Travel store, so we thought, “Why not ruin our social life and work seven days a week?!” Actually, there was no social life to ruin! Seriously though, we did see it as a really exciting opportunity, as it will give us a chance to link the food we offer at the café with the great travel deals we get at the Travel Agency and the special travel gear we sell in the shop – it’s all about travel and the experiences you have.

So, tell us about your staff.

Well, Neal trained as a chef in London and worked in a Director’s Dining Room for a large company for a number of years and also had a catering equipment hire business in London. Scot trained as a chef in Sydney and has worked at cafés and restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Armidale. Scot will be running the café side, and Neal will concentrate on the Travel and Adventure gear store. Vicki, who has been in the travel industry for over 20 years, will continue to run the Travel Agency. As well, we have some really enthusiastic and experienced staff to help out at all three ventures.

So what plans do you have for each part of the “Experience”?

On the Travel Agency side, we are planning a lot more talks and information evenings highlighting some great destinations such as France, South America, Africa, Morocco, Oman, Canada and Alaska, as well as highlighting some travel experiences such as walking in Britain and Chamonix, cycling and motor biking around Vietnam, taking the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian railway across China, Mongolia and Russia, and cruising Antarctica. These will all be held in the café, and we’ll make sure they are linked with some great travel deals. Neal will also be having some great deals on travel and adventure gear in the store.

And what about the newest part – the café?

We have some great ideas and plans for the café. The day-to-day menu will be an inviting, comfortable selection filled with your breakfast and lunch favourites. But the part we are really excited about is our specials menu which, carrying on the 195 Experience theme, will have a real travel flavour to it. We will be highlighting regions and countries around the world, linked with the talks and information evenings we are going to have and special travel offers, so the food will reflect the travel theme of the company. There will be dishes from France, India, Morocco, Spain, the UK, Vietnam and many more. And, you’ll be able to get a coffee in the mall after 3:30pm, as we will be open until 4:30pm on weekdays and open for breakfast and lunch on weekends.

Do you have any specials on offer now?

For July and August, anyone eating at the café will go into the draw to win a return flight from Armidale to Sydney courtesy of REX airlines. Anyone who comes along to any of the information evenings and who then books a holiday through Travel 195 will receive $100 worth of savings – with a $50 Travel Voucher from Travel 195, a $35 gear voucher from Adventure 195 and a $15 food voucher from Café 195. That’s the 195 Experience!

Thanks Vicki.