interview + staff headshots with Toast Pambula

Nicky - Unwavering belief that everyone has a unique genius + Ollie - Works tirelessly with a genuine love of bringing unique food experiences to our community.

Toast Pambula and Toast Eden are two loved cafés on the Far South Coast of NSW. They’ve become a daily ritual for locals and a must-visit for travellers. People don’t just come for the great coffee and food—they come for the sense of community, connection, and consistency. Toast has become a meeting place, a spot for life’s little (and big) moments, and increasingly, a go-to for those with specific dietary needs.

I recently had the pleasure of photographing the team from Toast, and the first thing that struck me was how warm and connected they are. Hospitality teams like this are rare—when staff stay for years, it’s a true testament to the culture the owners have created. Nicky and Ollie, the duo behind Toast, have built something special.

Having worked in hospitality myself, I was curious to learn more about how they run their business. So, in true busybody fashion, I asked Nicky a few questions about her business and list one thing she loves about each of her staff.

Scott - The most loved staff member by public vote, But from a business perspective, he is our sounding board and our rock + Lilly - Has always been there for us and for her community. Only does things one way - an expert in presentation and quality control. 

If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice when you were just starting out, what would it be?

Don't judge yourself, or make decisions only based on what others see. Know who you are and go from there.

What are the top 1-3 most effective marketing tools you use in your business and why and how? (eg. socials, email marketing, paid ads, word-of-mouth).

We focus primarily on the in-venue experience and the connection we make in person. If we get this right, we have the opportunity to form long and binding relationships, and our customers become our advocates.

Instagram, in the way we use it, shows out character through humour and behind-the-scenes content which deepens our connection with our customers. We have an email list of about 1000 subscribers. We find that these are really strong supporters and we get great outcomes from email marketing when we design and pitch it right.

We try to use marketing activities that align with our values and speak directly to our community. However, our gap is finding new audiences for our business - so we are about to launch tentatively into some paid ads on Google which will use geo-fencing and re-marketing. Will let you know how it goes!

Jenni - Deeply caring with a genuine love of hospitality and people. If she learns your name, she will make you feel like an old friend each time you visit + Bevan - Our man on the ground. The guy behind the food consistency everyone values at Toast. 

How do you think your industry will change in the next few years, and how are you preparing for it?

Wow. Well, I really hope our suppliers can stabilise our prices so that we can get out of this reactive state and into feeling like we can connect more with our long-term vision. The cafe is not like fine-dining where pricing has a broader range and can keep going up to a degree. To maintain the essence of cafe culture, we need to remain accessible to as many people as possible. In cafe it's about that daily ritual and frequency. I do worry that cafe culture is at risk as we become more of a 'sometimes' thing. We are really at the point where we are reaching the ceiling on passing costs on to our customers. If we have to keep pushing it to stay afloat, things like table service, employment of professional staff, and cafe restaurant-style dining experiences - the model will need to change drastically so that we can stay affordable. The model is already changing but, at Toast, we are being guided by our core values of community, connection and consistency - and hopefully whatever lies ahead, we will continue to be what people need.

Chelsea - Uniquely humble and a joy to train and see grow. Word of warning: do not underestimate this girl + Aubrey - she is a really straightforward communicator and an expert trainer. My kind of gal!

What is next for Toast?

In a big way, Ollie and I just love running our business, and it sometimes sees us biting off (almost) more than we can chew. Our senior team are so tight and supportive and love new projects, so we opened Toast Eden in March this year with everyone's go ahead. We are really still in our infancy with that spot, so we are just constantly re-structuring how we're doing things, adapting to feedback, and nurturing the space. Our kitchen garden in Eden has been a big one for us this year! We love a collab and on this, we worked with Shelley from ReWild Gardens. She's helped us design a garden that feeds into both our Pambula and Eden kitchens and is a really unique alfresco dining experience as well.

We are also about to launch into a partnership with Pambula Surf Lifesaving Club. Toast will be operating with coffee, kids snacks, sweets and beach bites, from their Kiosk over the summer. As a mum, this is my dream, to be playing with the kids and be able to have a coffee on tap. Similar to what I love about Katie's coffee cart at Spencer park.

Connect with Toast via Eden Instagram, Pambula Instagram or their website.

Zoe - never says no to a challenge. Is always there when we need her.