A new cafe has rolled into Maroochydore serving up freshly made bagels, including the option to build your own.
Coastal Bagels is the latest venture from local business owner and mother of three Kay McNulty, who says she was inspired to open the shop after finding herself at a crossroads.
“My cafe at the University of the Sunshine Coast had closed due to them not renewing my lease and I thought, what to do now?” she said.
“I didn’t want to work for someone else, then I saw a hole in the market so jumped in.”
She said the location at the Aerodrome Road end of Sixth Avenue, near the Sebel Maroochydore, felt like a perfect fit from the start.
“I always thought it would be a great spot being near the caravan park and a skip and a hop to the beach,” she said.
“It was meant to be as the opportunity came up and with no bagel bar in the area I felt it was a great opportunity.”
Originally from New Zealand, Ms McNulty moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2016 and has owned two cafes over the past eight years.
“It’s not my first rodeo but my first building from scratch,” she said.
“I am a one-woman show – I have been with my previous cafes as well. I had a vision and made the vision happen. I’m like a dog with a bone – once I put my mind to something, watch out.
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“But I must admit, quite a few times during the process I thought I’d bitten off more than I could chew. If it wasn’t for my family, amazing friends and tradies who put in that extra mile it would have been a hell of a lot tougher.”
When asked what made Coastal Bagels different, Ms McNulty said the secret ingredient was simple: her personal touch.
“We aren’t just a bagel bar, we are a friendly, welcoming cafe that offers of course bagels with a great selection of fillings, yummy sweet treats, delicious smoothies, milkshakes plus of course coffee,” she said.
“Bear Bones is our coffee supplier and roastery – it’s a beautiful smooth blend, you need to try it to believe.
“The biggest seller at the moment is the Breakky Bagel, a real bang for your buck, then our signature Coastal Delight. You can build your own as well.”
Since opening at the end of September, Ms McNulty said the response from locals had exceeded expectations.
“Amazing – we’ve had so many positive comments and already have a number of regulars. My team and I are loving meeting fresh new faces daily,” she said.
Getting Coastal Bagels up and running wasn’t without its challenges, including convincing Nikki Bezel, from Cooroy-based Bezel Bagels, to supply the bagels to the business.
“You could say I was relentless until he just had to say yes to shut me up,” Ms McNulty said.
“Nikki Bezel is a bagel extraordinaire – they are authentic and absolutely made with love. Anyone who knows Nikki would say the same.
“The process takes days, then they are shaped by hand. It’s a smallish operation but growing fast.”
Looking ahead, Ms McNulty said she was taking things “one week at a time” after a busy start-up period.
“I guess I’m just taking a breather after months of stress,” she said.
She also wanted to give a shout-out to her staff – “Pati, my head barista and 2IC who has come with me from my previous cafe, Silke, Avery, Elise, Az and Kate, who have been patient and with me 100 per cent”.
“It takes a village to run a successful business,” she said.
Coastal Bagels is at 10/110 Sixth Avenue, Maroochydore.
