Villa & Hut Blog

Today over 2,000 runners got up at the crack of dawn to to brave the chilly frost of the morning air to run their own personal best at the Villa & Hut Sandy Point 1/2 Marathon.    Whether it was their first time racing or seasoned veterans, they all put their best foot forward.   They each faced their own challenges and crossed the finish line.  It was such a great day on the bay (sunny and 16) with the Coast Monkies racing to challenge awareness about cleaning our coasts,  the shoe recycling collection for Kids Off the Kerb – (Saucony gave away 5 free pairs for shoes to those who donated).  Afterwards Peak Potential’s  amazing masseuses were kneading away the tired muscles and nothing better than a delicious cup of How’ya Bean coffee to pick you up after a challenging race.

The Villa & Hut Sandy Point 1/2 Marathon was a huge success thanks to Byron and the crew from Start to Finish who organised an amazing race!  It was awesome watching everyone out there having a great time.  Don’t forget for all participants there is a $10 kafe gift voucher (on the back of your race bib) that can be used at Villa & Hut kafe (conditions apply).

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Coast Monkies Rock

The Coast Monkies were out running and raising awareness about keeping our beaches clean.  Such a cool organisation that is able to incorporate exercise and protecting our coastline in one cool monkey costume.

Shoe Recycling for Kids Off the Kerb

Join Villa & Hut this Sunday, August 22 for the Villa & Hut Sandy Point 1/2 Marathon for one of the most scenic runs along Port Phillip Bay.

It will be a great day to run your personal best or be part of the fun as Chris Anstey (two time Olympian, former NBA player and three time NBL champion) and along with triple Olympic Softball Medalist, Natalie Titcume will start the half marathon, 10km run and 5km run/walk.  Don’t forget to visit our marquee for a delicious How’ya Bean coffee and a massage (provided by Peak Potential).  Also, after the event, recycle your race number by handing it in at one of the Villa & Hut’s kafes and you’ll receive $100 off* your next meal!

Remember, it’s not too late for your friends and family to enter!

Online registrations are open until 9am on Friday, 20 August and registration will also be available on the day at the event. Plus, there are still 80 2XU Technical Running Tees and a few hundred caps still up for grabs!

Some green tips and initiatives

• Don’t forget to donate your old running shoes at our shoe recycling drop-off on event day. Five lucky participants who do so will WIN a pair of Saucony running shoes valued at $180 each!
• Environmental auditor, Mat Morris from the Global Protection Agency will be assessing the event’s impact on the environment. After the event, we will then purchase carbon offsets.
• Onlineplants.com.au have provided a range of native saplings as spot prizes, so you just might win one to take home and plant!
• Try to carpool (check out www.thecarpool.com.au) or cycle to the event – there will be bicycle parking available.
• Please bring along a water bottle to fill at the drink stations.
• Don’t forget to check out the tree planting happening at the event site!

Other activities:

• Two time Olympian, former NBA player and three time NBL champion, Chris Anstey along with triple Olympic Softball Medallist, Natalie Titcume will start the half marathon, 10km run and 5km run/walk.
• Visit 2XU’s marquee and register for their database for your chance to WIN a $250 X:CARD!
• XOSIZE will be providing massage and 25% off Saucony runners. They will also have a raffle for your chance to WIN a pair of runners RRP $250, compression tights RRP $140 and a $100 voucher.
• Arena Fitness will guide you through a pre-event aerobics warm-up. Join them for a post-event stretch at the Stretching Zone.

Good luck and have fun! We look forward to seeing you on the start line this Sunday.

For more information on the Villa & Hut Sandy Point Half visit www.starttofinish.com.au

*Conditions apply. Check race number for details.

Villa & Hut takes off in Warrnambool !!

On June 9, 2010 Villa & Hut Warrnambool opened its doors!

The aroma of homemade pies and quiches coming from the oven, warm muffins out on baking trays lined the benches, the exclusive Van Leuvan hand made Villa & Hut bread displayed along the counters, putamayo music playing through the centre speakers made us all very excited! It wasn’t before long the locals had filled the leather seating lounges and were sipping chai lattes, children played in the kids play area, while the rest of Warrnambool lined up for a chance to taste the award winning Villa & Hut coffees.

Lunch time came and went as customers enjoyed some of our favorite dishes in the formal dining area – Marrakech salads, nasi goring and Cajun calamari…..

A big welcome to Warrnambool and our new franchisee – Bec & Emmy!!

By Tracey Trueman

How do you measure success?

Is it by the amount of digits in your bank account, the title on your business card, the number on your bathroom scale, the zip code you live in or how many friends you have on Facebook?

It’s different for everyone. I can only describe the Coffee Experience at the Good Food & Wine Show in Melbourne as a huge ginormous success. Steve Agi and the crew at BeanScene put together quite a show – I actually think it was THE BEST part of the entire Good Food & Wine Show. It was high energy, lots of coffee and not to mention foxy guests on the stage like Manu Fieldel. There was the Latte Smackdown – to find out who made the best latte art in Melbourne. Eugene from Southwharf represented Villa & Hut in the Latte Smackdown and although he was not the final winner, he did an amazing job. We are all so proud of him.

It was great to meet our loyal customers who understand our passion for great coffee and convert those who haven’t tried our exclusive How’ya Bean Blend.

Watch people’s face as the experience our Vanilla Chai Latte for the first time and understand why we are famous for our Chai!

With your help at the show we were able to raise over $2005 for Vinnie’s CEO Sleepout. There is still time to donate (click here),

It was soo cool to be a apart of the first Coffee Experience at the Good Food & Wine Show in Australia.

The success was immeasurable.

Special thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!

Just published Villa & Hut’s Vnews Winter 2010 edition

* Please note that the correct website address for GroundsZero “The Official Recycling Program for the Coffee Industry” is www.groundszero.com.au

We scoured through the comments to choose our winner for the two free tickets to the Coffee Expo at the Good Food and Wine Show in Melbourne June 4, 5 & 6. And you know what sometimes it’s just not that easy.  So we decided why don’t we pick two winners.

Michael Dawson – You are the winner of 2 Free Tickets.

Michelle Skehan – You too are the winner of 2 Free Tickets.

Send me your address and will have them in the post – hurry up.  We’ll see you there!