The Salt Mill team gives the humble general store a fresh new spin in Currumbin

For 12 years, Sarah and Johnny Gillett have watched people wander barefoot from Currumbin Beach into the neighbouring The Salt Mill, and in the process, they’ve developed a pretty good idea of what locals and beachgoers are looking for.

Now, they’re putting that knowledge to use next door, opening Currumbin General. The business had traditionally operated as a newsagency and general store, and when it came up for sale around 12 months ago, Sarah and Johnny saw an opportunity to retain what people loved about it while giving the concept a refresh.

It’s a fitting next chapter for the couple, who have become familiar faces in Currumbin since opening The Salt Mill more than a decade ago. Sarah and Johnny Gillett opened the tiny beachfront cafe in 2014, building a loyal following around consistently excellent coffee, acai bowls, smoothies and the kind of relaxed surf-community atmosphere that feels particularly at home opposite Currumbin Beach. They later expanded The Salt Mill to Kingscliff and Brunswick Heads, selling the Brunswick Heads location last year.

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Currumbin General takes a slightly different approach. Rather than replacing the old-school corner store entirely, Sarah and Johnny have kept elements of what was there before, including newspapers, magazines, giftware and everyday essentials such as bread and milk. The lotto counter is gone, though, making room for a kitchen and a food offering geared squarely towards days spent by the sea.

The requests they’d heard repeatedly from The Salt Mill customers helped shape what came next – hot chips, milkshakes and ice cream.

Currumbin General feels like a modern take on the neighbourhood general store, without losing the nostalgia that makes the concept so appealing. The aforementioned hot chippies and milkshakes are joined by chocolate, vanilla or twist soft serve, rustic pies and sausage rolls alongside a cabinet filled with house-made cakes. There are also ready-to-go sandwiches and snacks designed to be thrown into a beach bag rather than lingered over at a table.

The cake cabinet is the work of Italian baker Laura, who previously baked in Italy and Spain before moving to Australia four years ago. Her orange-and-almond cake is already proving popular, alongside a cacao-and-olive-oil creation and rotating flavours such as blueberry. The selection changes regularly, with dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan options worked into the mix and plenty of colour coming from fruit and flowers.

Then there are the shelves, which are the kind you’ll inevitably spend a few minutes browsing while waiting for the kids to finish their soft serve. Pantry staples lean towards the good stuff, with Allpress Espresso beans from The Salt Mill, crispy chilli oil, Fancy Hank’s chilli mayonnaise, crispy hot honey and pasta sauces. The fridge holds ready-made meals including Corbett’s Kitchen lasagne, beef-and-pork meatballs and minestrone, while Tony’s Chocolonely, Drift candles, Sunnylife pool floats and a scattering of kids’ lollies cover everything from an emergency dinner to a last-minute gift.

One particularly welcome addition for long-time Salt Mill regulars is the cafe’s house-made choc granola. Customers have been asking to buy it for years, and for the first time, Sarah and Johnny are packaging it up for the shelves at Currumbin General alongside the coffee beans served next door.

The two businesses have deliberately been designed to work together rather than compete. Currumbin General doesn’t serve coffee, so you can grab your usual from The Salt Mill and wander next door, where a scattering of stools offers somewhere to sit and take in the light and ocean outlook. Sarah and Johnny hope people will move freely between the two spaces, creating something of a communal hub for the neighbourhood.

In an era when the classic corner store is becoming increasingly hard to find, there’s something endearing about Currumbin General leaning back into the simple stuff – bread and milk, hot chips after the beach and a soft serve for the kids. It’s familiar, just with better pantry staples and a very good view.