Ty Simons, and his wife Rachael, are well known for being the owners of one of Ocean Grove’s most popular cafes – Driftwood Cafe. Ty speaks to the Voice about what he loves about Ocean Grove.
What is your connection to Ocean Grove?
My great-grandparents moved here in the late 30s, then my grandparents just before the war. There wasn’t much here then. They owned farmland in what was the outskirts of Ocean Grove – the ‘Old OG’ corner of Thacker and Tuckfield Streets. I wish they had kept a slice for me.
I moved to Melbourne when I was 20. Then I travelled to the UK in my mid-20 for
six months. I stayed for 12 years. I met my wife, Rachael in London but she grew up in Nambucca. We moved back to Melbourne in 2009, started having kids and wanted to bring them up as we had been, in smaller communities by the beach. So we moved back to Ocean Grove and opened Driftwood.
What do you like about where you live?
I love the sense of community in Ocean Grove. The day after we moved back here our next door neighbours brought us a box of chocolates and welcomed us to town. After living in big cities where everyone sticks to themselves, it was nice to move into a small town community again. Despite the town growing so big, we are all part of one big neighbourhood.
What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
The traffic! Who would have thought there would be congestion in OG? My mum
Marie always said she would move out when “Ocean Grove got traffic lights”. Well, she is still here and there are more lights needed.
Where is your favourite local place to spend time?
The beach is great of course but I reckon the best kept secret is the Nature Reserve. What a beautiful, peaceful gem on the Bellarine. A relaxing reminder of what once covered a lot of our region. With all of the development going on around it, it is vital we keep this parcel of land as natural as possible.
Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you
I have lived in more than 25 houses in my life, plus countless places travelling the world.
Rach and I took the very long way home and travelled for 13 months around the globe.
Moving house is just never fun. It is time we stayed put. Rach and I, with the expert help of my dad, are going to build a Passive House in Ocean Grove. It will be a lot of work but something we can work on together and even the kids are keen to get involved. It will be a quiet, comfortable, super energy efficient home for our four wonderful kids to grow up in. One in which we can grow old.
How does Driftwood Cafe contribute to the local community?
We support the local community, sports associations and schools where we can, but we certainly feel that this is a two way agreement. The past couple of years have been tough for us all, the way the town rallied around local business and supported each other was fantastic. We have a great base of regulars, some who live here all year and some that come and go on weekends and holidays. I think the next 12 months are going to be tough for small businesses, but I am confident that Ocean Grove will continue to support us all and keep the town flourishing.
