Adrian Sykes says the idea for a ”tariff” on American-made items at the cafe was born several weeks ago. Photos: Supplied.
Cans of Coca-Cola and Jim Beam are a common sight in venues across Australia, but there’s a special sticker on the cans in one rural cafe.
Eight years ago, Jan Giles and Adrian Sykes bought the general store and transformed it into Cafe on Queen in Binalong, a small town about 30 minutes from Yass.
In recent weeks, the pair has chosen to raise the cost of some drinks after footage of a clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart Donald Trump went viral.
In late February, the two leaders met in Washington, DC to discuss American support for Ukraine, but the meeting ended after the conversation turned hostile.
“After seeing [the meeting], I was appalled at the way they treated President Zelenskyy,” Adrian told Region.
“He’s trying to save his country from destruction, from an illegal invasion. He’s trying to save his people and they just belittled him.”
To raise money for Ukraine, the pair decided to add an extra $1 to the cost of each can of Coke, and $2 to each Jim Beam can that they sell.
“I’ve gone through every product in the cafe here and they’re the only two products [that are American-made],” Adrian said.
Proceeds from the ”tariffs” are being donated to charity, with Adrian saying they were prepared to keep the price increases in place.
“We’re not planning any other events at the moment, but the ‘tariff’ will continue until we see a change in attitude from the US administration,” he said.
“We’re tallying up that amount of money, and the cafe will match that amount at the end of each quarter.”
The cafe’s American flag looks a little different from a normal one.
Also, an American flag in the cafe has been rehung – just upside down.
Adrian said they found the flag while in Las Vegas last year to watch an NRL game, where it was “blowing down the street”.
Until now, it has been at the cafe.
“The upside-down flag means ‘in a state of distress’. If a ship or something had their flag flying upside down, it means they’re in a state of distress,” he said.
“That’s an international symbol for a state of distress, and that’s how we feel America is going at the moment.”
Through Adrian and Jan’s fundraising efforts, the cafe has raised more than $2000 for a Red Cross appeal for Ukraine.
Jan said the changes to the drink prices followed a fundraiser that brought local musicians, a Ukrainian family and residents of the surrounding region together.
“We put out a call to local musicians to see if they would volunteer their time,” she said.
“We put on an additional evening here at the cafe with pizzas and a barbecue, and all the sales of the food went to the fundraiser. There was also a $5 entry donation – they didn’t have to, but people could donate $5 to come in.
“The response, in such a short time, was amazing [and] overwhelming.”
Jan said there had been no complaints from patrons about the price increase.
“We’ve had people ringing us, people sending us messages,” she said.
“We’ve had an amazing response from people.”
Cafe on Queen is located at 15 Queen Street, Binalong. They’re open from 5:30 pm until 9 pm on Friday, 8:30 am until 4 pm on as well as 5 pm until 9 pm on Saturday, and from 8:30 am until 4 pm on Sunday. Keep up with them via their Facebook page.
Loading ...
