Preparing to serve up a 'tradie's breakfast' now the kitchen's in order

Egg and bacon rolls, and other convenience foods, are set to be added to the menu at Café Viva.

The initiative, being dubbed a "tradie's breakfast", is just one of a number of ways the café will expand its repertoire following an overhaul of the kitchen paid for with a Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation grant.

Vivability chief executive officer Nick Packham said more food can be prepared on site now, reducing the café's reliance on other suppliers.

"We'll be able to offer some broader options at lunch time as well," he said.

"Up until this point, we've basically brought in most of the food from other suppliers, which has been great, but this just gives us more options and more opportunity for the people who are working to learn new skills in terms of cooking and food prep."

The tradie's breakfast is expected to be introduced within the next few weeks, and Mr Packham said it will be well advertised when it becomes available.

In addition to serving customers, Café Viva also does catering, which there has been "growing demand" for.

Mr Packham said "the catering will really expand" as a result of the new kitchen, as will the possibilities for the menu at The Big Lunch each week.

The Big Lunch is held every Thursday at the café, providing anyone who shows up between 12pm and 1.30pm with a free meal.

The initiative, which was launched in October, 2023, has become so popular that it was nominated for and won the New Event of the Year award on Australia Day in Bathurst.

"We've averaged about 100 people every week at The Big Lunch and I knew that it was welcomed and popular with the people who attend," Mr Packham said.

"I wasn't sure what the broader acceptance of it was, but we were certainly delighted to win."

He said the staff appreciated the acknowledgement from their community.

"They were pretty excited. A bit like the business award last year, people like to be acknowledged for the work that they are doing and the impact they have in the community," he said.

More than 1000 free meals have been provided through the program since its inception.

"I think it's a really good program for a number of reasons. Firstly, it increases employment hours for people with disabilities, and it provides a free lunch for those people that really need a free meal," Mr Packham said.

"More broadly than that, I think it's a really nice community networking event that happens every week. We're starting to see people that are coming and spending a bit of time and having their business meetings at The Big Lunch as well."