WELCOME
Gnostic neighbours
After meeting each other briefly one evening, Em sat down with one of the new Gnostic Mana owners, Kathy Kang to find out more about our new Gnostic neighbours.
K
athy (30) and her sister, Yvonne (27) are the proud new owners of the cafe that was first opened in 2001 by Mary from Gnostic Forest. “I love serving our customers and chatting to them. I love to make my customers feel welcome and make sure everyone is enjoying themselves and feeling happy.” Kathy’s face absolutely lights up when I ask what her role is. Such a people person! Her sister, Yvonne, will be the coffee and menu specialist and will do lots of the behind the scenes working with suppliers. “I love being near the water” says Kathy. She confides that she comes in early to make a coffee and drink it on the waterfront in the gentle morning light before the day begins. We discuss our mutual love of the local environment and I promise to make her a map of the best places to visit for bushwalking. She is excited to relocate to Woy Woy soon with her little dog. “My home town in China is a memorial city for fallen soldiers.” My thoughts immediately went to the memorial garden here on Brickwharf Road in Woy Woy. We both got a little quiet and gently discussed the shared human desire, to honour those lost. She described an annual event where they bring flowers to the
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memorial, just as we do here on ANZAC day. Kathy studied nursing for a little while but decided it was more exciting to work towards owning her own business one day. She went against family advice to keep studying and bought a cafe in Dee Why. The sisters built it up into a thriving store which they have sold to relocate to sunny old Woy Woy. “Family always has your back but you also need to grow up and be strong!” We sat for ages sharing notes about growing up in family businesses and the unique industrious streak that environment gives a kid growing up. Her dad took over her grandmothers packaging business and it seems like the business passion has passed to the next generation too. I grew up in small business from a little corner store to now be a part of the Gnostic Corner we know and love. Although we were born about 9000 km away from one another, in different countries and cultures, I immediately feel a bond to these entrepreneurial sisters. We are so very happy to welcome them and wish them the best success here on the Gnostic Corner.
