We've wanted coffee on-site since first opening, it's been much requested by our beloved swimmers and regulars too; however, two of the main ingredients for such a lovely cup o'Joe is electricity and water, 2021 is the first season we've had this and we hope you enjoy Ohana in all its glory.
Friday 9:30am – 5:15pm
Saturday 8:30am – 5:15pm
Sunday 9:30am – 5:15pm
Our crêpes finish an hour before we close
Monday 9:30am – 5:15pm
Tuesday 9:30am – 5:15pm Wednesday 9:30am – 5:15pm
Thursday 9:30am – 5:15pm
Ohana is entirely Sarah's own creation, an informal coffee bar serving quality coffee, excellent cake and her own favourite: crepes.
So why Ohana? Those disney fans of you will have immediately said: "Ohana means Family, family means no one get left behind" in a funny voice. This is a well loved phrase from Lilo and Stitch explaining the deep meaning of the Hawaiian word. We've always been tribal at Lake 86, we are proud of our repeat customers, regulars and swimmers, a small but tight community where kinship is strong and hearts wide. Ohana fits nicely.
The swirly thing? That's a Koru, as any student back from their gap yah can tell you, a Maouri symbol of an unfurling fern symbolising a new start. Every day could be a new start, this should normally be accompanied by coffee. Sarah has been a professional athlete since she left secondary school and is greatly enjoying her new start that she can plough all her energy into.
Keeping eco-accountability at heart, the cake is cooked locally by a small business (by none other than one of our swimmers it turns out!) Jonathans Catering, the coffee from Cirencester provided by the renowned Rave Coffee and the crepes? Well, it was time for Sarah to pick up a spatula and put her skills to the test, and, with the number we've all eaten I don't think there's anything to question.
Inspiration came from many of Sarah's favourite places around the world:
O'kere falls cafe on the banks of the Kaituna, NZ
Cafe de la P just off Pucon highstreet, Chile
Ana's on the beach, Dickensons bay beach, Antigua
With these on the drawing board there were some definite eco and ethical veins running through and a strong similarities in style. Ohana was always going to be a converted shipping container and the tag line recycle, reuse, repurpose became a regularly muttered phrase whilst trying to find the next solution through the build. That and "it'll do" but that was mostly when Sarah wasn't around.
In the end the walls were made from unused floor panels, front panels from barn roof blown off during the last El Nino, work tops saved from a cancelled order, broken fence posts used as edging, scrapped pallets for signage and a 100 year old rail as a collection shelf.
Over the last few years there has been a rush and desire to appear eco-friendly, both for governments and for retailers. In trying to source ethical products and consumables for the Hut, Sarah was surprised and disgusted with the mis-guided and mis-leading information being peddled. Here's some examples of common buzzwords mis-used in the industry.
"COMPOSTABLE"
These things are only compostable, if put in the right type of bin, if it makes it to the SINGLE industrial composting facility in the UK that can actually compost bioplastics. So basically not. And the other composting facilities that can't mechanically sort the waste on the way in will send everything they cannot compost... to landfill!
"BIO-DEGRADABLE"
These things will bio-degrade, but only if combined with the right temperatures and pressures mostly, definitely, not found in nature, and therefore they are unlikely to, well, biodegrade.
"RECYCLEABLE*"
The retailer is the only one that knows what type of cup they use but a massive amount of cups are recycleable... but only once they've had the plastic lining and cardboard separated, something that almost certainly doesn't happen.
We are different. Everything made at Ohana will be handed to you in an actually - mainstream - recyclable container, this is after we've done what we can to reduce it to simply what you need in the first place... so maybe only have that coffee lid if you are driving?