The recent years, the Illawarra become part of a trend that has now come to define Australian culture, the independent café. While it is something that was borne out of Melbourne and the trendier parts of Sydney, Wollongong has now experienced a rapid amount of these more niche spots opening up. One of the more successful of these has been Three Chimneys.
Recently however, Three Chimneys has taken a turn for the worse. Filing for administration earlier this week, it has raised concerns about the state of independently owned café’s in the city. Despite this, many continue to thrive as they were. One such business is Sifters. Partially owned and run by Ane Glahn-Bertelsen, the collective partnership they have, which includes an espresso Café, is coming to fruition. So how has the response been and what does the future hold? Ms Glahn-Bertelsen explains.