Business Q&A: Kookaburra Coffee Co.

If you’re looking for quality coffee and pastries served by a skilled and friendly staff, stop by Kookaburra Coffee Co. on North Village Avenue. Here, Mitch Alongi, a partner in the coffee shop, gives us his recipe for a satisfying menu and loyal customers. 

What sets your coffee shop apart from the competition?

We are really more like a little café. Our lattes and cappuccinos are made the traditional way. The drinks are handmade using an Italian espresso machine. Lattes, espressos and cappuccinos are our signature drinks. We sell tons of quality coffee each day.

Do you also serve breakfast foods?

Absolutely. We have a variety of fresh baked goods. Our muffin tops are our signature food item. We also have bagels that we get in from a local shop. People love our bagels, crumb cakes, muffins and pastries.

Are a lot of your customers regulars?

There are a lot of people that come into the shop every single day. We have been in business for five years and a lot of our customers know each other or have gotten to know each other through our shop. People say that Kookaburra is the Cheers of coffee shops. Everybody knows your name.

How would you describe the atmosphere in the shop?

It’s definitely very laid back. We always have rock and roll music playing in the background. If you came in right now you would see that there’s a line out to the door with customers chatting and catching up. Our staff is very relaxed too. We don’t wear uniforms or anything…we just want people to come as they are.

What do you want people to get out of their experience at Kookaburra?

We want everyone to experience our courteous service and quality coffee. We’ll do it until we get it right. If you don’t like your coffee, we dump it out and do it again. We have so many regulars that the staff knows exactly what most of them they like as soon as they come in.