IS it too much to suggest coffee has become the cigarettes of a new millennium?
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In recent years there has been an explosion of coffee shops in Bathurst, set up to satisfy a seemingly insatiable appetite for the beverage.
You cannot walk down a street in central Bathurst without seeing groups gathering around tables – or on the footpath – and cradling warm mugs of cappuccino, latte, chai ... or whatever.
Wind the clock back 30 years and those groups were dragging on Marlboros, Winfields and Benson and Hedges – and both groups would swear they could not start their day without it.
Now, in a remarkable turn of events, Bathurst is preparing to welcome a new twist on the coffee phenomenon – the drive-through coffee shop.
Entrepreneurs Ann Parker and Chris Ridge will both open drive-through stores within days of each other to cater to crowds on the go.
At the same time, McDonald’s has announced that its McCafe coffee is now available for the first time at its drive-through window.
It surely marks the start of a new era in Bathurst’s history.
Bathurst has survived for about eight months short of 200 years without a drive-through coffee shop.
Within weeks, we will effectively have three.
Just how well each performs is now up to local coffee drinkers, and we can only wish them all the best.
Regional cities such as Bathurst should do what they can to encourage new businesses, and we should particularly support those courageous small business people willing to commit their time – and money – to such a venture.
Let the brew-haha begin.