What started as a roadside caravan on the way to the tip has become so much more than a place to stop for a coffee or mouth watering crumpet.
Sofie, the owner and creator of Highway Myocum, has somehow created a little piece of heaven within a swamp facing all of mother natures elements. A place that feels alive with connection, creativity and community. What she built was never simply a café. It became a safe and welcoming space where all walks of life could cross paths, friendships could form, and people could simply come as they are.
There is something special about the people you meet at Highway Myocum. You might arrive alone and leave having shared a table, a conversation or a laugh with someone you would never otherwise have crossed paths with. It has become a place where people connect naturally, where different worlds seem to meet, and where the atmosphere is just as important as what is in your funky looking mug filled with a delicious beverage
Sofie created a menu that encourages people to be curious and open minded to new experiences, full of flavours and combinations you don’t often find elsewhere. It has opened people’s palates, bringing something genuinely different to the Byron food and beverage scene.
Somehow, this little roadside caravan became a destination in its own right. People now seek it out, with some travelling from well beyond the Byron Shire just to experience what Sofie has created. Even to simply see and meet Sofie and be greeted with her contagious laugh and exceptional smile.
That is what makes the closing of Highway Myocum feel like such a loss. We are not simply saying goodbye to a café; we are saying goodbye to a place that became part of so many people’s lives.
But perhaps it is not really goodbye. Sofie clearly has the ability to create something meaningful from ordinary places… to turn a patch of swamp and a roadside caravan into somewhere people feel at home. That says enough.
Her final weekend at Highway Myocum will be 19–20 September.
It will undoubtedly be a bittersweet farewell, but I think many of us will be watching closely, excited to see what Sofie creates next.
Because if Highway Myocum has taught us anything, it is that wherever Sofie goes, magic will follow.
She creates a community.
She has created a community.
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