Toni and Daniel Neuhaus accept their award for Employer of Choice in the 2026 Business Awards. Photo: Trader & Co.
When Daniel and Toni Neuhaus opened the doors to their Yass cafe Trader & Co. in 2016, they were new to hospitality and more than a little daunted by the three-year lease they had just signed.
Now 10 years down the track, they’re celebrating the dual milestone of a decade in business, along with their shiny new award for Employer of Choice in the 2026 Business Awards in their region of southern NSW.
“When we started out, we thought we’d give it a go for a year or two, but we had to sign a three-year lease and that felt so long,” laughed Daniel, who shared that he could have never foreseen that they would be still at it a decade later.
The focus on culture in the workplace has been a big driver behind the business for the past 10 years. Photo: Trader & Co.
Taking time out to attend the awards ceremony in Batemans Bay on 4 September gave Daniel a chance to reflect on the past 10 years. Trader & Co. was a finalist in three categories – Outstanding Business Leader, Excellence in Small Business and Employer of Choice, proving that running a cafe involves far more than simply serving coffee.
“Winning Employer of Choice means a lot to us. It’s recognition of the culture we’ve worked hard to build here, and we see that as a two-way relationship,” Daniel told Region.
“The expectations we set for how our staff treat customers are reflected in the way our customers treat our staff, and that builds an intentional culture for the workplace.”
Daniel said their original vision for Trader & Co., a social enterprise and a place where community could be built, remained as strong as it was on day one. The path to reaching the 10-year milestone, however, was filled with difficult and unexpected turns, not least of all the disruption of COVID-19.
Through it all, Daniel and Toni have continued to place their trust in the community, whose support has kept the business going.
“Yass locals make up 75 per cent of our business, so it means much to us to have those strong relationships; they are why we do it,” Daniel said.
Trader & Co. credit the support of the community for their success in business. Photo: Supplied.
It’s easy to overlook the impact that one coffee shop can have on a whole community, but through diligent local hiring and sourcing, Trader and Co. put back more than $1 million dollars into the local economy in 2025.
Daniel and Toni’s ambitions extend beyond their own backyard, too. Through their coffee roastery, Six8 Coffee, they donate $1 from every kilogram of beans sold to organisations fighting child trafficking.
With a decade behind them, a new award on the shelf – one of many – and a community firmly in their corner, does Trader & Co. have another 10 years in it?
The question prompted a nervous laugh from Daniel, perhaps unsurprising for a man who once doubted he would make it through a three-year lease.
For now, he says that he’s happy to take things one day at a time.
Trader & Co is located at 92 Meehan Street, Yass. It’s open from Monday to Friday from 8 am until 3 pm and Saturday from 8:30 am until 2 pm. You can keep up with the team on Facebook.
