It's the only cafe in town, but it's changing lives and Tripadvisor loves it

When Shona and Conrad Cook arrived in Wilcannia five years ago, they noticed two things pretty quickly: there was nowhere to eat in town and the local teenagers had very little to do.

So, drawing on their hospitality background, the Cooks decided to help solve those problems in one go by opening a cafe. 

For years, Wilcannia in western New South Wales has languished under a reputation for being dangerous, prompting travellers to stop only briefly at the petrol station before continuing on their way.

But since the Cooks opened Cafe2836 in 2023, things have started to change for the historic community on the banks of the Darling River.

"It's brought a lot of tourism into the town," waitress and barista Brooke Tanswell said.

"When people do stop here [now] … they always come back.

"They say once you've come across the river … you know you're definitely coming back."

The cafe has a Tripadvisor rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 and reviews of the food and staff are glowing.

'Makes you want to get out of bed'

Ms Cook said one of the biggest problems in the town was a lack of opportunities for teenagers.   

"We saw the girls in the community … with nothing to do," Ms Cook said.

"Just bored … no confidence, no self-esteem."

Ms Tanswell said the cafe now employed several young Indigenous women. 

"It makes you want to get out of bed every morning, that's for sure," Ms Tanswell said.

Stevie Harris, 16, said her confidence had grown dramatically since she started working at the cafe earlier this year.

"Communication skills, technical skills, I've learnt a lot,"

Ms Harris said.

It's pushed her out of her comfort zone, too.

"Not a lot of kids my age went to school," she said.

"I was the only one in my class for two years and that was pretty hard, but I kept pushing myself.

"So getting a job was a really big goal for me."

Ms Tanswell said seeing Ms Harris's confidence grow had been wonderful.

Overcoming shame, finding joy

Building up the confidence of the staff has been an important focus for the Cooks.

Ms Harris said overcoming feelings of embarrassment or the complex cultural concept of shame, had been a big step for her.

"It just brings a lot of happiness and joy to you when you serve people," Ms Harris said.

"That makes you feel welcomed and you make them feel welcomed, it just makes you feel really happy."

Ms Cook said she had explained to the girls and women she employs that they had nothing to be ashamed of, and that speaking to customers was part of the hospitality job.

"Now they'll talk to anybody, they'll give them eye contact. It's just really good to see," she said.

The girls are also seen as role models for the town's younger residents.

"I always get told by the little kids when they come in here that they want to work here, so they all look up to us for sure," Ms Tanswell said.

Cafe crew like 'family'

The cafe is more than just a workplace, Ms Tanswell says, as it feels like home.

"They [the Cooks] are my second mum and dad … they treat everyone like they're their own family," she said.

Ms Cook says "the girls are everything to us".

"When they have a problem … they know they can come and talk to us about it,"

she said.

"We're here to help the community, and we've shown for years that we're working hard to help Wilcannia to help the young ones get on their feet.

"It's a full community effort to get it where it is."