Solitude Coffee Roasters

Solitude Coffee Roasters is a small-batch specialty roastery in the Coolum Beach industrial estate, working out of unit 4 at 40 Dacmar Road. This is a coffee bar rather than a full cafe: beans are roasted on site, the seating is informal, and dogs are genuinely part of the room. It suits an early, purposeful coffee run before the beach rather than a long brunch.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome inside the warehouse space as well as out, which is unusual for the Sunshine Coast and a big part of the local following. Water bowls are usually available, a puppuccino is often on offer, and the owner's dog is regularly around to greet newcomers. Keep your dog settled near the informal seating while the roaster works; it is a working space, so well-mannered dogs fit best.

The vibe

The warehouse is calm and unhurried, fitted out with handmade wooden furniture and a steady soundtrack, and the focus sits squarely on what comes out of the roaster: espresso and filter from house blends and rotating single origins, cold brew in the warm months, and bags of freshly roasted beans to take home. Food is a short list of quick bites and sweets rather than a kitchen menu.

Getting there and parking

Trading runs roughly 7am to midday on weekdays, with weekends closed, and because it is a working roastery the hours can shift. Check before a special trip. Free street parking is easy throughout the industrial estate, which is quiet early in the morning.

Make a day of it

The Coolum foreshore is a short drive away, and the Stumers Creek Dog Offleash Area is the obvious follow-up: under the Sunshine Coast Council rules, keep your dog leashed until you are past the marked transition zone near the carpark, then the off-leash beach runs for kilometres either side of the creek. The Coolum Beach off-leash dog beach gives you another stretch of sand, and the foreshore trail to Point Arkwright suits a longer on-leash walk.

Pepsi: a roastery that lets me inside and hands over a puppuccino. My kind of industrial estate.

More dog friendly cafes across Queensland and around Coolum Beach.