In what was a successful launch for the inaugural Barstool Brothers Sunday brunch at the Kiama Leagues Club, with warm hands and full hearts, there were unconfirmed reports of sauce and yolk in moustaches and beards.

“It certainly was a successful launch. It is one of those types of events that generally takes time to build and to see that turnout so quickly, it really speaks to the need for that community connection and feeling,” Barstool Brothers general manager Daniel Chin said.

For the staff at the Leagues Club, there was much anticipation on numbers for the event and Kiama did not disappoint.

“It was a great turnout. There were members as well, and then people that some of us have not seen before, which was nice. So, a nice mix,” catering manager Sarah Rebbeck said.

Rebbeck who not long ago traded the stove for the desk in her role as catering manager, donned the apron for the event and was serving up bacon and egg rolls, with vegan options provided to those who requested.

“We had one member [who is] vegan and Sarah made him a special vegan roll and he was like ‘that was so nice, I felt so included’,” Leagues Club marketing manager Maddie Battagello said.

Chin said the support from Kiama Leagues Club was a testament to the team and gave a vision for the future of the monthly brunch.

“It also shows you how seriously Kiama Leagues Club takes this and the kinds of improvements they want to see in the community and how they can help as well,” he said.

“To build that [the monthly brunch] up quickly [and] to get that kind of response for the first one was incredible.

“Ultimately, we would love to see this brunch continue to grow and continue to build a community presence of healthy men down there to support each other, and it is something that our charity is really focussed on in the Illawarra.”

Rebbeck and Battagello were full of praise for the staff, with some even coming in without being rostered on.

“It was really great to see staff members coming in to help, like people who weren’t rostered on,” Battagello said.

“It was really nice for the staff to do something as well, like we can feel like we are giving back. It just felt like a nice kind of bonding.”  

The Barstool Brothers organisation was founded in 2019 and has been an arm around many shoulders within the Illawarra. 

The organisation aims to provide mental illness relief within society by “building communities of people who understand and are aware of their own mental health around them”.

Kiama Leagues Club is a regular meeting place for many groups in Kiama. It is holding an upcoming event for Homelessness Week 2025, which runs in the first full week of August.