Social Enterprise
Food that funds medical discoveries
POWERING LIFE CHANGING MEDICAL RESEARCH WITH EVERY SERVE
Cafes
The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation through The Common Good runs a variety of social enterprises including cafes, coffee kiosks and a catering service to fund our charitable operations.
These include sites within The Prince Charles Hospital, Caboolture Hospital and Kedron Emergency Services.
FIND A CAFE FOR THE COMMON GOOD
THE PRINCE CHARLES HOSPITAL
The Main Café offers hot meals, sandwich bar, freshly made sushi, soup and salads, cold drinks, baked sweets, Merlo coffee and a retail section with convenience foods, gifts, magazines and essential items.
OPEN: 7:00am – 6pm weekdays; 8:00am – 3:00pm weekends.
The Hospital Entry Cafe offers cold drinks, Merlo coffee, and a small selection of sandwiches & snacks.
OPEN: 6:30am – 2:00pm weekdays. Closed weekends and public holidays.
The Emergency Entry Coffee Caravan offers cold drinks, Merlo coffee, and a small selection of sandwiches & snacks.
OPEN: 7:30am – 2:00pm weekdays. Closed weekends and public holidays.
CABOOLTURE HOSPITAL
The Main Café is located inside the Caboolture Hospital, offering customers a selection of offering hot meals, sandwich bar, freshly made sushi, soup and salads, cold drinks, baked sweets, Merlo coffee and a retail section with convenience foods, gifts, magazines and essential items.
OPEN: 7:00am – 4:30pm weekdays; 9:00am – 2:00pm weekends.
KEDRON EMERGENCY SERVICES
The Cafe for The Common Good at Kedron Emergency Services Complex offers customers a selection of hot meals, sandwiches, cold drinks and Merlo coffee.
OPEN: 6:30am – 3:00pm weekdays.
Catering
Catering for The Common Good is part of our social enterprise businesses, with every catering order helping support crucial life-saving medical research.
Our catering menu reflects our passion for good health, offering a great range of choices to meet your catering needs.
Choose from a wide variety of breakfast, morning/afternoon tea and lunch options, with a large range of platter selections also available to order. Cold and hot beverages are also available.
Please note: Our catering team requires a minimum 72 business hours notice for catering orders.
Hear from one of our Major Social Enterprise partners:
Merlo‘s support of The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation began in 2014, and our contributions of over $1 million through both monetary and in-kind contributions have helped to fund vital research in the areas of ageing, mental health, heart disease, and lung disease. We feel proud knowing that our contributions have a significant impact on these research projects.
The partnership first began through our support for the Cycle for Giving, a charity bike ride that raised money for organ transplant research.
From our directors Dean Merlo and James Wilkinson to the roasters, baristas, and back-of-house staff, everyone at Merlo is committed to supporting the groundbreaking and lifesaving work of the researchers.
Our support of The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation through their social enterprise highlights our belief in creating positive change now and into the future.
SERVING UP LIFE CHANGING RESEARCH
Our Social Enterprise Model
What is a Social Enterprise?
A social enterprise is a business that operates to address social problems or improve communities or the environment. In the case of The Café for The Common Good, profits from the social enterprise help offset some of our operating costs so we can maximise the impact of charitable donations. This means that donations made to The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation, can go on to support incredible life-changing and life-saving research into critical health areas including heart disease, lung disease, mental health and ageing.
Our business model encompasses low overheads due to the generous support of partners and site hosts, including low to no rent spaces and value driven partnerships with suppliers such as Merlo Coffee Roasters.
In 2020, The Café for The Common Good was proud to win the Lord Mayor’s Business Award for the Outstanding Social Enterprise. We are also grateful to have received Social Enterprise growth grant from the Queensland Government Department of Employment, Small Business and Training to expand our fresh food vending machines, to providing nutritious food to staff and hospital visitors after hours.
Our Food Philosophy
The Café for The Common Good encourages a farm to plate philosophy, supporting local Queensland growers. The menus are curated daily with an emphasis on seasonal produce. All the food is freshly prepared onsite by our fully qualified chef.
As well as barista-made Merlo coffee and hot drinks the café provides gourmet hot meals, sushi, sandwiches, soup, salads and take-home meals.
We’re always looking to expand our social enterprise team. If you’re interested in applying your hospitality skills to a meaningful purpose, take a look at what job opportunities are available.
Available Positions