Café owner battles neighbour who sells coffee from her living room
A Melbourne coffee shop owner is questioning a decision to permit a woman who lives across the road to open a rival café in her lounge room.
City of Casey granted Val’s Coffee and Desserts a permit to sell food and coffee, even though it is a residential premise, something Joes Java owners Joe and Whitney are not happy about.
Aida, the owner of Val’s Coffee and Desserts, also operates a home-based salon, but Joe and Whitney say she went too far by serving food and drinks at a price much lower than their own.
“The council is killing us here - how can they do this? … Whoever approved this needs to be sacked,” Joe told A Current Affair.
Val’s Coffee and Desserts charges just $5 for a ham and cheese sandwich, half of what customers pay for the same combo at Joes Java.
“I fear that they’re able to cut their pricing to undercut us and … before you know it, we have no customers left,” Joe said.
“If that happens, then Joes Java will be no more.”
Sheridan Randall, 21st June 2019
