New owner promises Vietnamese flavours for Woombye

She’s just 28. She’s new to the area, from a different country, struggles a little with the language and it’s her first business.

Still, new Kimnat Little Market and Cafe owner Kelly Nhu Nguyen is rising to the challenge.

“I only moved to the Coast since May,” said Kelly. “I moved here and then I just bought the business. And I know taking on a business is hard, but you don’t limit yourself. If you don’t try, you don’t know.”

Kelly plans to introduce Vietnamese food to the menu soon. “We have to try and cater to everyone’s different food preferences and Vietnamese food is very healthy so it should suit the customers well.”

A new Kimnat Little Market and Cafe owner Kelly Nhu Nguyen, left, and team Linh Thanh, Eddy Duong, and Jesse Kimlin.

She said Vietnamese cuisine offered a brilliant mix of ingredients and flavours.

“So we trying to put everything in balance. We have veggies and meat, noodles. It’s really tasty and healthy and I think it should fit in here.”

People were also requesting banh mi (Vietnamese bread) and Vietnamese salads.

“But we’ll still keep the existing menu, and then just try to introduce some more Asian here.”

Kelly said she had enjoyed the transition since taking over from previous owners and founders Brent and Janelle Jeal last month.

“Yeah, everything so far is very good and the people here are really lovely. I realise it can take time to adapt to a new owner but people have been really patient during the transition.”

Kelly lived in Melbourne for seven years, where she finished studies in business management and worked in hospitality before going back to Vietnam to help run her family business. “We had a trading business. And then I came back, and found a job and moved up to Darwin for six months.

“And I saw an opportunity to have the business which I thought suited my background. So that’s why I chose this Cafe. And I moved from Darwin to here in May, and then from May until settlement took three months. Because now, with COVID, the government requests lots of information.”

• Kimnat Little Market and Cafe in Woombye’s main street offers an extensive range including gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options.

—  Cameron Outridge