More than 200 Tasmanian coffee shops are vying to be named the state’s favourite, with one New Norfolk cafe hoping recognition would cap a difficult few years.
Circle Coffee House owner Penny Wallner said winning the 2026 Pulse Tasmania and Hospitality Tasmania People’s Choice Award for Best Coffee would mean “a hell of a lot” to the small business.
Pulse is spotlighting venues nominated for the 2026 People’s Choice Awards, presented by Pulse Tasmania and Hospitality Tasmania. To vote for your favourite venue, click here.
The cafe was forced to close for 18 months after a fire four years ago destroyed its original premises.
Wallner said five young boys had lit bins at the back of the shop “just for a bit of a joke”, resulting in the business losing everything.
Circle Coffee House had opened in 2019 and operated for three years before the fire.
The business had been just days away from taking ownership of the building when the fire happened, leaving Wallner and her husband Brett uncertain whether they would reopen.
They eventually found another premises on the other side of the roundabout in New Norfolk and kept the Circle Coffee House name.
The cafe marked two years since reopening in May.
Wallner said the support from the community throughout the closure and return had been “unreal”.
“I’d be blown out of the water, to be honest,” she said of winning the award.
“It was a big thing for us to turn around and lose what we lost and to turn around and come back has been amazing.”
Circle Coffee House serves up to six kilograms of coffee a day, with Wallner saying quality of the coffee was central to what their business offered.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on here,” she said.
The People’s Choice Awards attracted more than 1000 nominations across five categories, with voting now open for Best Pub, Best Bottle Shop, Best Breakfast, Best Coffee and Best Live Music.
Winners will be announced between September 25 and 29, ahead of the Hospitality Tasmania Awards for Excellence at Mac02 on September 30.
To vote for your favourite venues, go here.
