Brewing Opportunities and Changing Lives with Hamlet Cafe

In the heart of Hobart, a café is doing much more than serving great coffee and brunch – it’s Changing lives. Hamlet Hobart Café is a social enterprise with an inspiring mission: to empower Tasmanians who face barriers to employment by providing real-world training and a supportive community. As a registered charity and inclusive workplace, Hamlet offers people – especially those living with disability – the chance to gain skills, confidence, and connection through its café and catering services​. Every cup of coffee and every meal served helps fuel a cycle of training and opportunity that benefits the whole community.

A Mission of Empowerment and Inclusion

Founded in 2016, Hamlet Hobart was created to “challenge and change the systems that prevent Tasmanians from participating in work and community life”. This means focusing on those who’ve historically been left out of the workforce – people with disabilities, mental health challenges, long-term unemployment, or other barriers to employment. Hamlet’s team believes in “smashing the ‘perfect employee’ myth” and showing that everyone has something valuable to contribute. By operating as a not-for-profit social enterprise, all revenue from Hamlet’s café, catering, and even its line of house-made condiments is reinvested into training programs and support services for participants​

Inside the cheerful café on Molle Street, you might notice a chalkboard tally of the impact to date – tens of thousands of training hours and hundreds of lives touched. The atmosphere is warm and bustling with purpose. Patrons enjoy their meals alongside Hamlet’s training participants, creating an inclusive environment where customers and participants mingle. For participants, this real-life café experience is a safe training ground to learn everything from making coffees and preparing food to customer service and teamwork. It’s an environment where mistakes are treated as learning opportunities and where patience and encouragement are part of the recipe.

Crucially, Hamlet doesn’t stop at on-the-job training. The organization provides wrap-around support to address broader barriers that participants might face. This can include workshops on résumé writing, interview practice, and work readiness, as well as linking people with services like Hobart City Mission’s Safe Night Space (for those experiencing homelessness) and Dress for Success (for professional clothing)​ . By nurturing skills and confidence and connecting participants to community support, Hamlet sets people up for long-term success beyond the café’s doors.

Training Through Café and Catering Services

Hamlet operates a popular daytime café (open Monday to Friday for breakfast and lunch) and a catering arm that serves events and businesses. These aren’t just revenue streams – they are training platforms. Training participants rotate through various roles in the kitchen and front-of-house, learning culinary skills, food safety, barista techniques, and customer interaction. Under the guidance of professional chefs and mentors, participants gain tangible work experience in hospitality. As one graduate put it, working at Hamlet can feel like “throwing yourself in the deep end” – but with support, it becomes a place to swim rather than sink​ (abc.net.au).

For example, Sophie Kluver joined Hamlet after three years of unemployment due to severe social anxiety. A busy café might seem like the last place someone with social anxiety would thrive, but the supportive environment at Hamlet proved transformative for her. “Working at the café and slowly building up confidence and skills has changed [my] life,” Sophie says. “I’m not so scared to go out anymore – I’m really excited to meet new people, talk to new people.”​

Over a year of training, Sophie went from hardly leaving the house to thriving in a bustling coffee shop, crediting Hamlet for helping her become less fearful and more open to the world. Stories like Sophie’s highlight Hamlet’s core belief that with the right opportunity and encouragement, people can overcome personal barriers and shine.

Hamlet’s model also extends to event catering and corporate partnerships, which broaden the scope for training. By preparing catered lunches, office platters, and even producing packaged condiments and gift hampers, participants get experience with larger-scale food prep and order management. Every catering order directly contributes to training – as Hamlet puts it, “choose Hamlet as your preferred caterer and create opportunities with every order.”​

This approach turns ordinary business activities into opportunities for social good, allowing companies and customers to support training opportunities simply by enjoying Hamlet’s delicious food.

Social Impact: Changing Lives Through Hospitality

In just a few years, Hamlet Hobart Café has made an impressive social impact changing lives. Since opening its doors in 2016, Hamlet has provided more than 50,000 hours of training to over 760 people facing barriers to employment​, numbers that keeps rising each month.) Importantly, these are not just hours spent in training – they translate into real jobs and transformed lives. Last financial year alone, 75% of Hamlet’s graduates secured employment in the tourism and hospitality sector​ moving into paid work at cafes, restaurants, hotels and other venues.

Many others go on to further education or training. In Hamlet’s first three years, for instance, 78% of participants went on to find work or enrol in further training after completing the program​– a testament to how well-regarded the experience at Hamlet is by both participants and employers.

Beyond the numbers, Hamlet’s leadership often emphasizes that building confidence and a sense of belonging is the program’s greatest achievement. “We talk about the employment outcomes that we have, but I think our biggest success is actually helping people to build their confidence,” says Emily Briffa, Hamlet’s CEO and co-founder​. Many participants arrive feeling anxious, isolated or unsure of their abilities; after weeks training at Hamlet, they leave with new friends, greater self-esteem, and the courage to take on new challenges. Some even continue their journey with Hamlet itself – today about a quarter of Hamlet’s own staff are former trainees who have grown into paid roles within the café’s team, truly coming full circle.

The ripple effects of Hamlet’s work extend into the broader community as well. The café has become a hub of inclusion where customers are part of the social mission by simply dining there. Hamlet also engages in community relief programs – for example, it has supplied over 64,000 warm meals to Tasmanians sleeping rough as part of its partnership with local homelessness services. This combination of workforce training and community care illustrates Hamlet’s holistic approach to social impact. It’s not just about finding someone a job; it’s about nourishing the community, in every sense of the word.

To underscore how far participants can go, Hamlet has been changing lives by building relationships with major hospitality employers all across Tasmania. In early 2023, the renowned Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) worked with Hamlet to create four front-of-house job opportunities specifically for Hamlet graduates. Graduates of the program have landed jobs at popular hotels like MACq 01 and other well-known venues around Hobart​ themercury.com.au, proving that skills learned at Hamlet are valued in the industry. These success stories show that when given a chance, individuals who once faced barriers can become star employees in some of Tasmania’s top tourism and hospitality establishments.

Partnership with 4one4 Property Co: A Shared Vision for Social Good

For 4one4 Property Co., partnering with Hamlet is a way to ensure their business has a positive social impact beyond the property market. “When businesses share a vision, real impact follows. Partnering with Hamlet Hobart, we’re creating meaningful change for our community. 4one4 Property Co. is proud to work with those making a difference for Tasmanians,” says Patrick Berry, Director of 4one4 Property Co.​

This shared vision means that every house sale celebrated with a Hamlet gift hamper is also an investment in someone’s future – a true win-win for the community. It exemplifies how local businesses can collaborate to amplify each other’s impact: 4one4’s support provides Hamlet with steady income and exposure, while 4one4’s clients receive a gift that carries a heartfelt story of community empowerment.These beautifully boxed hampers might include Hamlet’s house-made preserves and other treats, but they’re more than just a kind gesture from agent to client. Each gift pack ordered from Hamlet directly translates into more training hours and support for Hamlet’s participants​.

In Hamlet’s words, “Every gift pack produced for 4one4 Property Co. is creating opportunities for our participants and allows us to continue providing much needed support to people in our community who are facing barriers to employment.”

Brewing a Better Future, One Coffee at a Time

Hamlet Hobart Café stands as a heartwarming example of how a simple idea – a café for good – can blossom into a movement of inclusion and empowerment. In its relatively short history, Hamlet has helped hundreds of people gain skills and confidence, served thousands in need, and inspired countless customers to see the value of a more inclusive society. Walking into Hamlet, you immediately feel that “it takes a village” spirit: staff, volunteers, participants, customers, and partner businesses all play a part in the mission. Each latte, sandwich, or catered meal is not just a transaction but a contribution to something larger.

The success of Hamlet lies in the community coming together – from government support and volunteers, to everyday patrons and socially-minded companies like 4one4 – to create opportunities for those who need them most. And the impact is tangible: graduates finding jobs in the hospitality industry, individuals overcoming personal challenges, and a Hobart community that’s richer with empathy and human connection. By blending hospitality with heart, Hamlet Hobart Café shows that businesses can be a force for good. It invites all of us to rethink how our morning coffee or lunch break could help “change lives”​. In the end, Hamlet’s story is about more than a café – it’s about the power of community and the belief that everyone deserves a chance to thrive.