By Parker McKenzie
Courtney Tull has given her mobile coffee shop — the Wattle Tree Co. — a huge makeover ahead of Grand Final Day, two years after its first opening.
“I like to do things with the van for certain days, like Halloween each year,” she said.
“I thought for the Grand Final public holiday, why not?”
The Sydney Swans fan has supported the team since she was little, taking after her father who grew up local to the club when it was still South Melbourne Football Club.
She said her display has been well-received by her regular customers, with a caveat.
“They all say it looks a bit Sydney-sided, but I do say I’ve got the cats,” she said laughing, pointing to a ‘Go Cats!’ sign surrounded by Sydney Swans banners and flags.
Ms Tull said she is closing the van for the holiday — before taking a break to go camping next week — so she can watch the game at a friend’s place and hopefully celebrate.
“I’ll be going to a friend’s combined 50th and grand final day, which will be great,” Ms Tull said.
“We couldn’t get tickets to the game, unfortunately, but we’ll have lots of drinks and hopefully a happy dance at the end.”
The Wattle Street Co. opened on Grand Final weekend 2020 — during one of Melbourne’s lengthy lockdowns —and Ms Tull couldn’t be happier to celebrate it.
“I thought about putting on a second birthday party,” she said.
“We’ve got a big following now, which has been great.”
Her favourite memory of the Sydney Swans is the 2005 premiership, where the team beat West Coast by four points, which she hopes can be repeated when they play Geelong on Saturday 24 September.
“It’s going to be close, I reckon it will be within five points,” Ms Tull said.
“It’s supposed to be wet so who knows? It’s going to be a tough day.
The Wattle Tree Co. is located at 150 Cambridge Road in Kilsyth and is normally open 7am to 1.30pm Monday to Friday.
