Cavalry Coffee has trotted into town

By Djembe Archibald

Jul 13, 2023

In this together: Steele Fairless and Simon Rooks. Photo by Contributed

Steele Fairless and Simon Rooks have started a travelling coffee van and are ready to serve your cup of Joe.

Mr Fairless and Mr Rooks both have a background in customer service, having worked in the local hospitality industry for some time, so when the opportunity came to open their own side business, it was an offer they couldn’t refuse.

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They have both worked with the Innes-Irons family, who have owned a number of hospitality businesses across Shepparton, including a horse float coffee van.

“Simon and I decided that we would purchase the float off them [the Innes-Irons family], give it a little touch up and start operating,” Mr Fairless said.

“It just has worked out really well because we’re both with the Innes-Irons family and we’d both get support to start this little hospitality business.”

The float the couple operate out of is handmade, crafted in the 1970s, which inspired the name ‘Cavalry Coffee’.

Light up the night: Cavalry Coffee has recently opened its cocktail bar for night events. Photo by Contributed

Mr Fairless and Mr Rooks have retrofitted the float to operate with the coffee machine, and decorated it to fit their style.

Cavalry Coffee is an event hire business that provides coffee and cakes for day events and brings the fun with cocktails for night events.

The duo’s first event was in September last year, where they joined in at Guthrie St Primary School’s Father’s Day event and kept the attending dads caffeinated.

No horsin’ around: Steele Fairless at a horse event in Tatura. Photo by Contributed

Their biggest customer so far has been horse shows, having attended the Water Wheel Classic in Tatura in May.

“We’ve done three [horse shows] because we’re in a horse float, it makes a lot of sense,” Mr Fairless said.

Mr Rooks isn’t a rookie in the kitchen, as he handles the baking while Mr Fairless is fearless behind the coffee machine and cocktail bar.

They both have a passion for providing customer service and hospitality to the people of the Goulburn Valley and hope to continue in this line of work.