By Abbey Cannan
A long term Noosa family has fulfilled its dream of making the Spit their office with a tasty new venture.
Andrew and Leesa Watson, along with some weekend help from their teenage son Charlie, have opened a funky vintage Viscount van serving freshly brewed barista coffees, ice-creams and toasties at the Noosa River Mouth.
Leesa said her family aspired to launch their new business, The Spit Van, since they moved to Noosa from Melbourne in 2009.
“We chose to live in Noosa as it was my grandmother’s favourite place in the whole world. After she died, her ashes were scattered at Little Cove, so we feel she is with us here,“ she said.
“One of the first people we met when we moved here were Dave and Caroline who ran the previous ice cream van at The Spit.
“We always said we’d love their office and as soon as we heard Dave and Caroline had decided to retire, we submitted our tender application to Noosa Council and crossed our fingers.“
The Watsons are passionate about supporting local suppliers and use Noosa coffee beans by Padre, mouth-watering gelato and ice cream from Noosa Gelato Company and have already gained a cult following for their famous toasties prepared by local cafe, Larder and Baked.
“We have been overwhelmed by local support,“ Leesa said.
“We quickly came to realise that The Spit may just be Noosa’s very own locals’ haunt.
“Every day we are surrounded by locals enjoying everything The Spit is.
“The kite surfing community at The Spit are wonderful and it is amazing watching them from the best little office in the world.“
Local artist Mitchell English’s aptly titled Golden Summer artwork wraps the van which looks incredibly unique, while blending in so well with the magical beach surrounds.
“We knew straight away that one of Mitchell’s artworks would be ideal,“ Leesa said.
“We chose Golden Summer as the peachy sandy background blends in so well with the natural environment. It literally is the environment.“
Mitchell’s art has an “undeniably Australian, coastal aesthetic“.
The Spit Van is a proud member of Plastic Free Noosa and strives to only offer products that offer a better alternative to plastic including The Noosa Collection of Blue Spring Water in aluminium cans. Packaging and straws are made from sugarcane pulp which is left over from the sugar-making process.
“We choose to leave as little impact on the environment as possible,“ Leesa said.
Right next to The Spit Van is a Containers for Change wheelie bin for customers to deposit their used cans and bottles.
All proceeds from the collection are donated to The Noosa Flotilla of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard – who are tireless marine search and rescue volunteers.
“We are locals supporting locals,“ Leesa said.
“From our Padre Coffee beans to our Noosa Gelato Ice Cream. Before we choose any supplier, we need to tick some boxes and the first box is always local.“
Customers often have a hard time deciding which flavoured ice cream to have scooped with Passionfruit Pavlova, Fairy Bread, Triple Chocolate Cookie Dough, Dairy Free Raspberry and Coconut and more to choose from.
Regulars also enjoy choosing which toasties to have – The Anna, The Evonne, The Scott, The Mick or The Dawn, named after iconic Australians. Can you work out who?
The Spit Van is open Thursday to Monday (Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and rainy days).
You can follow The Spit Van on Instagram @thespitvannoosa for their daily posts of the weather conditions at the mouth of gorgeous Noosa River.
