We're Lou & Doogal,
Hospitality is what we do.but people are why we do it.
We met in 2013 in Leigh Creek. Two people from the north figuring life out.
I was nursing. Doogs was running a kitchen, doing what he does best.
We fell in love, moved to Adelaide and were content. Until we weren’t.
So we left.
We packed up all we knew and travelled the world. That’s when we truly fell in love with food, people, culture… and got completely hooked on what hospitality could be. Not just plates of food, but connection. That feeling you get when you walk into a place and it just feels, well, good.
We came home with that in our guts and no real plan… except to back ourselves.
In 2017 we bought a little cafe in Hawker. Back where we came from. Our home.
Honest, humble and full of potential. We got given the opportunity of a lifetime. Without the support of the previous owners giving us a chance through vender finance, we aren’t sure where we’d be today.
In 2018, Flinders Food Co was born.
We built it from. Long long days and a few hangovers (haha). Learning everything as we went.
But we created something people were willing to travel for.
A place where locals and tourists sit side by side. A team that feels like family. A business that actually means something.
Fast forward to 2026, we’ve now opened a second venue and built a life with our two babies around this thing we created from the ground up.
And here’s the truth…
Most of what we learned, we learned by getting it wrong first. and so...
was born
It’s everything we wish we had when we started.
Real advice. Real systems. Real support. No fluff. No bullshit.
If you’re in hospitality and you want to build something that works, not just survives, we get it. Because that was us!
And we’re here to help you do it.
