Marc grew up in Nelson. He and Kiera had been living in Byron Bay before they moved home — and within their first year back, while expecting their third child, they took on the lease for what's since become one of the busiest cafes in the Nelson Tasman region.
The building itself has been part of The Wood a lot longer than they have: a 150-year-old villa, modern fittings sitting right alongside the original floorboards and walls.
Home, a new baby on the way, and the busiest breakfast table in town — all inside twelve months.
The story, in one line — read the full feature on Neat Places
Marc and Kiera also run Soul Arch Coffee Roasters — Marc's life-long dream, set up in a shipping container on the family's lifestyle property, roasted in whatever hours are left around raising three kids. Every cup at Bobby Franks is theirs, poured a few streets from where it's roasted.
Follow Soul Arch →This is a family business in the plainest sense — the Shaws lease it, work it, and raise their kids around it. It shows in the small things: dogs are always welcome on the deck, the crew is hired with a friendly email rather than a formal process, and regulars are greeted like regulars.
4.7 stars across 474 Google reviews — the kind of number you only get from a lot of regulars, showing up, again and again.