When Kane and Hayden Presland were thinking about naming their new café, they immediately thought of their grandparents’ last name on their mother’s side: Beck. 

Their mother is one of two sisters, meaning the name was likely to die with them. 

Wanting to keep it alive, the brothers named their new venture Beck’s - only to discover they weren’t the first in the family to do so.

“After we opened, my mum's auntie, who lives in Hungary - Beck is a Hungarian name - found out that my mum's great-grandfather used to own a Beck's Coffee House in Budapest in 1912,” said Hayden.

So, it turns out the story of their new café on Tingira Crescent, replacing the much-loved Little Earth, began long before either of them were born.

More than a hundred years later, in December 2024, Kane (26) and Hayden (21) were chatting when the idea hit them to open a café together. 

Beck's cafe in all its glory. Photo provided.

Just two months later, as though the universe was listening, the owner of Little Earth - a close connection - asked if they’d be interested in taking over the space.

“It was too good of an opportunity to miss,” said Kane. “It’s such a good location. It has north-facing sun with an ocean view, and it’s out of the main town of Kiama. 

“So it was perfect. We’d always had the idea of opening a café in the back of our minds, but we’d never found the right space to do it. This was the first time we could actually see it working.”

The two went back and forth deciding on the layout and vibe, but Kane was set on letting the brand create itself rather than pushing a concept onto people.

 “One of the things we wanted was to not launch the brand too hard. We wanted it to evolve organically, to create itself.”

Little Earth had its last day of service on 29 June, and just six days later, on 5 July, Beck’s was open and ready for customers.

 “We got the keys at like 6pm. Sunday night. Then we opened at 6:30am the next Saturday morning,” said Hayden. 

“It was 16-hour days. We’d get in at 6am and sometimes leave at 11pm. We painted everything, put in new floors, new tiles, new lights, and fitted out the retail room. We pretty much took the whole place apart and then put it all back together,” said Kane.

The brothers have been surprised by how much support the community has shown, and they feel they’ve achieved their simple goal: to create a space where everyone feels welcome.

“It’s been sick. We’ll be full inside, full outside, and there’ll be 30 people just standing around, drinking their coffee. We wanna be the kind of place where people will pull out camp chairs or milk crates and sit on them - or even just lay on the grass and watch the whales,” said Kane.

Customers enjoying the sun and the coffee at Beck's Cafe. Photo provided.

“We’re also really big on the customer experience when people come in,” added Hayden. 

“And making sure we stay consistent. If someone brings their friend in a week later, we want it to be the exact same experience for them too.”

Also part of the café is a small surf store, filled with surf-related apparel - something both brothers are passionate about. “We wanted to showcase some of our favourite brands,” said Kane. 

“We’ve got boards from a local guy who shapes surfboards, merch from local brands, as well as clothes and jewellery. It’s all up-cycled stock and handmade, and we wanted to share that with other people.”

In the future, they hope to expand by opening at night and getting a liquor license, helping turn their street - which also features Cin Cin Wine Bar - into more of a local nightlife hub. 

But for now, you can find the two brothers serving up high-quality coffee (still using the iconic Little Earth beans) and simple, fresh food from 6:30am to 2pm, Monday to Friday.