The Story of Wanda

The idea of starting a Vintage Caravan Bar evolved organically. I wanted to run my own business, had years of hospitality experience under my belt, and loved a good restoration project. So what better plan than to convert a vintage van into a retro café and bar?

In 2014, I started looking around for an old caravan with ‘good bones’. When I finally came across ‘Wanda’, I knew she was a gem just waiting to be restored to her original glory.

I snapped Wanda up the same day I saw her for sale. She was sitting in the front yard of an old caravan yard in Bendigo just begging for me to take her home. It was love at first sight.

The restoration of Wanda took us (aka myself, the hubby and my very talented handyman dad), around five months of solid work every single day. She was in worse shape than originally thought. All the timber was rotten and had to be replaced. And being 60 years old, there was not a straight line in the whole van!

After long toil and late nights, she made her official debut in February 2015 and we haven’t looked back since. Wanda is renowned for serving up great coffee, espresso martinis, Pimms cocktails, homemade ice-cream and sweet treats at all sorts of functions throughout Victoria – from weddings to corporate do’s and everything in between.