You could say hospitality is in Michaela Pitman’s bones, having grown up in kitchens, cafes, and bars her family has owned and operated in SA for over 30 years. If you’ve spent any time in Victor Harbour, it’s almost an impossibility that you haven’t eaten at Nino’s or Loco Mexican.
But the recent opening of 2nd Street Coffee, unsurprisingly, on Second Street in Bowden, is Michaela’s first venture out on her own. Though this isn’t exactly a family affair, she’s also not doing it alone. The quaint cafe is a joint endeavour with her partner Tim Kamenjarin. Tim has also worked the full gamut of hospitality in and around Adelaide. The formidable and passionate duo have poured all that experience into creating something special on the corner of Second and Gibson streets.
It’s clear as soon as you walk through the doors that their focus is on serving the community exactly what it wants; whether that’s a homemade pie or cake for morning break, a honey foam iced long black to perk up an afternoon, or a comforting Reuben to be savoured in-house. Just in the short time we stopped by, we saw local businesses popping in to have their staff meetings catered and a neighbour who had previously suggested she’d love to see wraps on the menu, stop by to find the counter stocked with them two days later. There were friendly “Good morning!”’s to and from the passersby of their walk-up servery window. It was true hospitality in action.
“We all love a chat… we just want the community to know we’re here to listen and be a part of everyday life here. So for sure, if you want to see something on the menu, we’d love to make that happen,” says Michaela.
If you’re looking for suggestions though, it’s the loaded toasties that are a must-try. The Reuben already appears to be a favourite, with several being served up during our visit. All the while, Tim was vigorously stirring extra béchamel to create more of the Tuna Melt toasties, which had flown out the door the day before.
The homemade pie selection alone is worth the visit, with new additions like a chicken, potato and leek, and a hearty beef brisket joining the rotation. Before 11am, the egg and bacon roll is the order of the day for those wanting something quick and satisfying to start the morning. The specials board changes regularly too, shaped almost entirely by what the locals are after; a meatball sub was the recent lunchtime favourite, gone almost as fast as it appeared on the board.
The team are passionate about sourcing as locally as possible and making as much of the menu in-house as they can. But sure, if you’re a dedicated Farmer’s Union drinker, you can pick up one of those too.
“Everyone’s been so friendly already,” Tim says. “People regularly just pop in to say hello and see how our morning’s going.”
Don’t expect to book a table here. 2nd Street Coffee is built for the grab-and-go crowd and the quick pop-in alike, a place to duck into for a calm, unhurried bite without needing to plan ahead. It suits the rhythm of the neighbourhood: fast when you need it, and comfortable enough to slow down in when you don’t. Bring your own keep cup and you’ll be rewarded with 20% off, a small nod to the sustainability ethos running that matters so much here in Bowden.
And it’s not just the customers who are locals. Two of Michaela and Tim’s staff live just a stone’s throw from their workplace, across in the new Uniting on Second apartments. This deep connectedness to Bowden only further fuels their zeal to serve the community.
It’s early days for 2nd Street Coffee, but the shape of what Michaela and Tim are building is already clear. This isn’t a cafe chasing a crowd from across town; it’s one that’s carved its place into the everyday routine of the people who live and work around it. Somewhere between the pie counter and the servery window, that’s exactly the kind of hospitality Bowden keeps asking for. Pop in and say hello; they’d love to meet you.
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instagram.com/2ndstreetcoffeebowden/
Location: 6/10 Gibson St, Bowden SA 5007
Hours:
Mon- Fri 7 am–2 pm
Sat – Sun 8:30 am–12 pm
