CAFE manager Sam Fraser says in such prolonged tough times for the community, it means so much when people keep stopping by for coffee and takeaways.
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So, Golden Point cafe Drive is shouting lunch to supporters in a bid to help "warm the soul" and say thanks on Tuesday.
Drive has a pay-it-forward coffee system and is open to customers paying it forward with lunch, but this was a project for the cafe's owners and staff to give a little joy to their locals.
Ms Fraser said customer support had been vital in allowing Drive to remain open and keep offering shifts to its casual workforce.
"It works well at Drive because we have a real community feel anyway from where we are located. We have fantastic support from our locals and this was our opportunity to help," Ms Fraser said.
"...It's not been easy (in hospitality). It would be much nicer to open and have people coming in. People miss the connections, those little daily moments with people you might not know well but being able to make those connections."
Drive will be offering hot soup and baguettes in a Local's Lunch period, from 11am to 2pm or until run out.
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Ms Fraser said the free lunch idea had stemmed from a friend who wanted to do more to bring a little happiness to the community and 1816 Bakehouse had come on board in donating baguettes.
A volunteer contingent will also be delivering lunches to the more vulnerable regulars in the Drive community.
Ms Fraser said this helped make the event feel like a wider team effort with people pulling together.
Business will be running as usual during this time period.
This comes a week after Ballarat Keralites' Foundation, featuring five professional chefs, cooked 350 meals of butter chicken with rice to deliver to Ballarat homes in need during lockdown.
Ms Fraser said it was hard to know how much to cater for lunch but Drive just hoped to create a few extra smiles.
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