Greenacres opens new café at WOL terminal — coffee with a purpose

Wollongong Airport now has a new café inside the terminal building — and it comes with a story worth telling. Greenacres Cafes and Catering opened at the airport in April 2025, becoming the organisation’s fourth café venture in the Illawarra. Run by Greenacres — a disability support organisation with more than 70 years of history in the region — the café provides meaningful employment for people of all abilities in a real-world hospitality setting. Greenacres CEO Karen Burdett described the opening as the start of an exciting new chapter. “This new café is more than just great coffee and delicious food — it represents opportunity, purpose and inclusion,” she said at the opening, which was celebrated with a smoking ceremony. The airport site also houses a new kitchen that will serve as Greenacres’ central catering base for corporate and community clients across the Illawarra. Artworks by Greenacres clients and the IMAGINE homewares range — including candles, diffusers and bath salts — are on display inside the café. Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer attended the opening, noting it was a strong example of how community partnerships can deliver real social and economic benefits. Greenacres employs more than 200 people with disability across its social enterprises, which include cafés, retail and labour hire. The café joins Café Connie inside the HARS museum complex, giving airport visitors two on-site options for food and coffee.