Fremantle caf's have started using coffee to bring more people through their doors, lowering their prices and adding a bigger competitive edge to the scores of caf's around the port city.
As of last week, places such as Ootong and Lincoln and Tropicana cafe were offering $3 coffee while The Loft, Salia cafe and Dolce and Angelica were offering specials during specific hours or for people working in Fremantle.
Salia cafe owner Yulia Guanda said her cafe offered $3 coffee between 2pm and 3pm to try to bring more people into the business during its quiet hours.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOW‘Prices in Perth are quite high but it is understandable because the items needed to make a good coffee are getting more expensive,’ she said.
‘Something like this is good for the customers because they don’t have to spend so much money on coffee but it is also quite important for us because, as you can see, most people do drink coffee and sometimes it is the quality rather than the price that they are looking for. But a bit of competition is always good.
‘More customers have come in during the afternoon hours to take advantage of the special, with a lot of morning regulars coming back in the afternoon for another coffee.’
Fremantle Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tim Milsom said the competition was a good thing for the economy of the city.
‘We’re all for healthy competition, which is exactly what we’re trying to encourage in Fremantle, and we want people to drink the best coffee available at the cheapest rate which brings people to Fremantle and they spend in other areas,’ he said.
‘The point of difference for Fremantle is the understanding that you go to Fremantle and have a coffee but at the same time you can see cruise ships coming in or you sit in the sun and you don’t get this experience in a shopping centre like Garden City.’