Kerb appeal with a difference: The family that built a cafe in their front yard

Cheryse Healy’s home in the Sunshine Coast hinterland has kerb appeal of an unusual kind, with a little cafe operating within its picket-fenced front garden.

Three days a week, Healy serves freshly brewed coffee and a menu of house-made cakes and savoury pastries to local customers in the small town of Eudlo. 

The purpose-built cafe was constructed in 2020 just across the yard from the house Healy shares with her partner Rhys and their sons Franklin, 6, and Alfie, 4.  

And while veggie patches or a pool might be more obvious ways to fill a big outdoor area, building a cafe was the sensible option for Healy, 31, who had struggled to keep all the plates spinning while running her catering business from an off-site commercial kitchen. 

“As the business grew, I started to run out of time and space in the rented kitchen, and the transport of ingredients and finished products to and from the space became really tricky,” she says. 

“During this time, we had researched and found that we were commercially zoned where we lived. Our house is next door to the original general store and Eudlo community hall, right in the heart of town, and the front garden seemed big enough to house what we needed for a kitchen space.” 

She admits the process of navigating permits, upgrading the septic system for commercial use (they are completely off-grid) while juggling care of the kids was “incredibly difficult” but says “it’s definitely been worth it, being so close to home and having that flexibility and something to call your own”. 

The cafe building was designed “in keeping with the heritage and character overlays of the town” and blends nicely with other buildings on Rosebed Street, the town’s main strip. The cafe is named Rosebed and Finch for its location.   

Inside is a kitchen, stainless steel benches and food preparation areas, and a servery window for customers. 

“Seating is only in the garden,” Healy says, “and it’s such an incredible space.” 

She’s created a relaxed picnic environment, with kid-friendly grassy areas and edible gardens, toys and an artist’s wall mural that would make anybody smile. 

While building up the business, Healy and Rhys have also been upgrading the house they purchased in 2016. Healy describes it as a “very basic, original layout of boxed-in square rooms, bathroom and kitchen right next door to one another. All we could afford really”. 

It wasn’t picture-perfect, but offered a stable base in a town they love, after moving around for years for Rhys’ work as a police officer. 

“Eudlo, and this house, always had a feeling to it,” Healy muses. “We knew it was going to be a forever home even in the rundown state we purchased it in.” 

They’ve “chipped away at jobs over the years”, replacing the kitchen with “an amazing Gumtree find”, and pulling down the ceiling to expose original beams. 

Adding a new woodfire burner and french doors helped create a homely feel, but Healy says there’s more to do. 

“Lots of unfinished jobs really! Juggling the kids and living in a renovation site – the process was slow.” 

After taking advantage of the HomeBuilder grant, those boxy living areas will merge into an open-plan space, flowing onto a deck that’s perfect for get-togethers.  

And really, the whole property revolves around people getting together. Healy even invites growers and producers from the surrounding areas into her yard to sell their fresh produce. 

“We open one Saturday a month and bring all farm gates together for a mini-market in the garden. Eudlo and Sunshine Coast hinterland have so much organic produce to showcase; it’s a hub of inspiration for what we do.” 

It’s a bustling home, a long way from what Healy envisaged when she started baking cakes “to make some contributions to the mortgage – never anticipating it to be what it is today”.  

And while she’s still working to create a good work-life balance, the positives outweigh the challenges. 

 “At the end of the day, no matter how hectic, I can sit in that garden space and be filled with the happiness and energy that it always had. And we can see how happy it makes all who decide to share it with us.”