Karlin Waite, The Other Place, Rutherglen NSW

For some people, going to work is a chore. For Karlin Waite, proprietor of The Other Place in Rutherglen, it’s a delight. 

 

“Some people get up and think ‘time to go to work’ and are a bit sluggish in getting to work, but I’ve got a great team and am lucky to have such supportive staff, which helps a lot. You’re going to work to please other people and talk to people all day, so you can’t really go wrong,” Karlin says.

 

Not that success was guaranteed when Karlin took the reins two years ago. “I guess being a younger person with a young family, I knew that it was going to be a lot of work, but now, looking back, I’m glad that we made the decision to jump on board and give it a real hot crack. I would like to really thank my husband, too, who works a full-time job himself then also puts in hours at the cafe; I couldn’t do it without him. It’s a great town and we have great community support, which helps massively when owning a small business. But looking back, I didn’t think I could do it but here we are now and business is going strong.”

 

When it comes to the menu, Karlin keeps it simple but never plain. “We keep things simple and make things easy to enjoy; obviously still full of flavour but not being too over the top. Being too fancy with too many ingredients can be confusing,” Karlin explains. “The Brekky Roll is very popular; it’s quick and easy to go if you’re in a hurry. All of our cakes are made in-house, and we have our own pastry chef. And we always have a top shelf in our cake cabinet that is for gluten free, including old-school jelly cakes and lamingtons. A lot of our menu is gluten free as well; we offer gluten free bread and can switch out if requested. We have plenty of options for dietary requirements.”

 

The Other Place operates seven days, 6am-2pm, and on weekends you’ll find their courtyard packed. “It’s a great space. We’re very lucky to have the courtyard next to the cafe. On the weekends we fill it for hours — it’s crazy,” Karlin exclaims. “It’s a beautiful town and we’re very lucky to have what we have here in Rutherglen, and we’re glad we can be a part of that and provide a friendly, comfortable space where people can come and sit and have breakfast, lunch, coffee and just enjoy the space, and Rutherglen, altogether.”