A TV personality has slammed the more than $9 cost of a cup of coffee at a Melbourne cafe, causing patrons to question the case for a public holiday surcharge.
Former Married at First Sight (MAFS) star and entrepreneur Samuel Levi started a lively debate over the surcharge when he posted an image of his $9.36 coffee order on Saturday morning.
He told Daily Mail Australia he purchased the coffee from Al Naturale, a popular cafe in St Kilda, in inner Melbourne.
The extra large coffee cost $8.00 alone, with an additional $0.16 for paying by card and a $1.20 public holiday surcharge.
‘I didn’t realise until after the order was placed and I sat down waiting for it,’ he said.
‘I mean, business is business and that I totally understand… With the economy we are in.
‘But to pay nearly $10 for a cup of coffee, nothing else, and with no extras I must say, is a little bit of a WTF moment.’
Alongside the Instagram post, Levi wrote: ‘Curious… Would you pay this much for a coffee?’
Former MAFS star Samuel Levi said realising he had paid nearly $10 for the coffee was ‘a little bit of a WTF moment’
The TV personality posted an image of his outrageously expensive coffee receipt to Instagram on Saturday morning
‘I mean, Melbourne coffee is great – but not this great.
‘Today’s not even a ‘public holiday’ either?’
The post was quickly inundated with comments as a number of his more than 100,000 followers agreed public holiday surcharges should be reserved for weekdays.
‘Saturday and Sunday are not public holidays so they can’t charge a ‘public holiday’ surcharge on those days,’ one person wrote.
‘They can charge a surcharge for any other reason however but because it is saying public holiday they are breaking the law.’
In reality, Business Victoria designated Saturday April 19 as a public holiday, along with the rest of the Easter long weekend.
While the surcharge may be legal, it certainly does not enjoy unanimous support among Australian consumers.
New research from point of sale platform Lightspeed found only 52 per cent of consumers found public holiday surcharges ‘acceptable’.
Australians will spend $94.8million in public holiday surcharges over long weekends in April, according to research from Money.com.au
There is no legal limit on the amount businesses can charge as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission only requires it is clearly displayed on menus.
Research from Money.com.au estimated Australians will spend an extra $94.8million in public holiday surcharges this month alone.
Surcharge aside, Levi’s $8.00 coffee price tag is certainly above average.
A survey conducted by the University of South Australia found the average price of a small takeaway flat white at specialty venues in capital cities was $4.78 in March, 2024.
Even without the additional $1.50 for making it an extra large, the coffee would have been well above average at $6.50.
Not to mention Levi was required to pay $1 for specialty milk he did not ask for.
‘No syrup here or anything extra. Just a XL coffee at a coffee shop that doesn’t allow you to do any milk alternatives apart from the one they supply,’ he wrote.
Levi described the St Kilda cafe as ‘beautiful’ but said the hefty price was: ‘Maybe something to think of when it comes to today’s expectations for customers and consumers.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Al Naturale Cafe for comment.
