Look out on the Broadwater! It’s a boat. It’s a floating shop. It’s a café. Yes, it is all of the above—it is the Seaway Café!
But is this not the ice cream boat? To set the record straight, Seaway Cafe owner, Spiro Stamatopoulos confirms, “We are trying to move away from the term ‘ice cream boat’ and have branded the business as a café. Although the vessel was previously exclusively an ice cream boat, the new boat is a well-equipped café. We now sell fresh grinder coffee, cakes, toasties and various other food items that boaties can enjoy.”
The Seaway Café has built a loyal following that is supporting the boating lifestyle for the new business owners. “Our best customers are those which are on the water for extended periods of time, such as day trippers, fishers, boaties on live-aboards, yachties, and those with kids. Our customers are on 3-metre tinnies up to 30-metre cruisers. We are fortunate that we have a captured market on the water as there are little or no other service like our café, where boats can pull up alongside and get a feed.”
So, if you are wondering what the Gold Coast boaties are buying, Spiro reels off the list of top-selling items: coffee, cakes, ice-cream, sausage rolls and pies.
The unique vessel was purchased in mid-March 2015 and underwent a major overhaul to return the boat to seaworthiness. Spiro says, “The project was a ground-up rebuild using the original hull with all new internal fittings such as benches, carpet, coffee machine, and equipment.”
Spiro is no stranger to the water. “I have always loved the sea. When I was just 16, I worked on trawlers as deckhand and have always owned a boat from a tinny to a cabin cruiser.” Not only does Spiro cruise the waterways he also cruises the skies. “My other passion is aviation. I am a commercial airline pilot and recently sold a flying school and charter company.”
Convenience is at the core of the business philosophy. “I can remember a day our family hired a pontoon boat from a company in Runaway Bay. We were moored up on the southern side of Wave Break Island when my wife, Elise, wanted a coffee and the kids an ice block. So we pulled anchor, steamed over to shops at Labrador, bought the essential items and returned to the same location. All well and good, but that process took about an hour away from our precious relaxation time.”
To sum up the business, Spiro describes “We come to you—servicing the Broadwater areas at least three times a day. So if we miss you the first time, waves us down on our return.”
Seaway Café services the popular Broadwater areas from Southport right up to North Stradbroke. The boat works with the tides as the vessel only does about five kilometres per hour.
The best way to flag down the floating Café is a frantic waving of hands, or call on 0427-712-652.
Editorial by Andy Kancachian
