You may or may not have heard of Kita by now, Canberra’s only all-night café, open from 6pm-6am Tuesday to Saturday. If that sounds a bit absurd to you, it did to me as well, which is why I wanted to experience it and meet the man behind the Canberra institution, Zac Young.

Arriving at the café around midnight on a mild summer’s night, Kita was full of customers. People were grabbing a late-late-night dinner, sipping coffee and just hanging out. The vibe was awesome and it was clear straight away that the café had a strong community spirit.

Having not had dinner yet, I was pretty hungry by this point and the food didn’t disappoint. The café’s food and style are deeply inspired by Zac’s heritage in Palembang, Indonesia and the dishes I tried were simply delicious, with the spring rolls a standout, while the hot chocolate was just as good.

While the food and atmosphere were brilliant, the highlight of the night was my chat with Zac and learning about his story. He had an infectious positive attitude, and it was clear to see why Kita had become such a success with him at the helm.

While Kita has been around since 2018 and has become well-known in the local culinary scene, Zac may be the reason you first heard about them, with his behind-the-scenes social media videos going viral over the past 12-18 months.

He was just 18 when he and his parents opened the Narrabundah café, with a vision to create a welcoming space for those who work through the night.

“We wanted a place where we could cater for the uncatered,” he says.

 “Shift workers, late night workers, I think there are thousands of people who work on shift in Canberra. We also get a lot of ambos from surrounding regions as well, down the coast or Wagga Wagga.”

The family-owned café operates with Zac running the front of house, along with all the marketing and social media, while his mother rules the kitchen and his dad, who has another full-time job, is the handyman. With roots in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, the café’s food and style are deeply inspired by their heritage.

While he feels blessed to work alongside his parents, Zac says there have been some challenges, something most people involved with a family-run business can relate to.

“It’s a privilege to be able to have family to even work with. So, I’m lucky to have that, but I’d be lying if I said that it was always sunshine and rainbows,” he says.

“When we were all in the same house and we work in the same business, it all feels like it just blends into one, and it’s hard to segregate the two.

“But without them, we wouldn’t be what we are, and I wouldn’t be the person I am. They gave me the opportunity to do something like this, and that essentially set me up for life.”

Even if you haven’t been to Kita before, you may still recognise Zac from social media. His weekly vlogs have become something both he and his fans enjoy.

“I wanted something that was true to my creative self and something that I had total creative rights over,” he says.

“I started to see online people recording behind-the-scenes stuff and I think what I do here is pretty unique and a bit different.

Zac says the exposure from his videos has definitely impacted business in a positive way, with an increase in customers and being recognised. He even had his first fan selfie recently.

“I had this one experience a couple of weeks ago in Sydney, and it was a bit of a pinch-me moment, he says.

“It felt so weird. I was at this little Filipino place eating barbecue chicken. Then this guy comes up to me and goes, ‘Are you Zac?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah?’ And he’s like, ‘Can I get a selfie with you?’ It was so funny and so weird because I literally had the dirtiest, chickeny fingers.”

One thing that was obvious about Zac was the pride he takes in doing the overnight shifts. He’s been doing them for six years now and you could feel how much that meant to him. While things are flying at Kita now, experiencing lonely nights in quieter times could sometimes be difficult, says Zac.

“Going back to the early days, the first couple of years were really tough. But over time, we’ve built something solid, kind of turned into an institution,” he says.

“But for sure, there were some really dark times. It was super lonely, especially on a Friday or Saturday night when all your mates are out, and you’re 21 years old, doing this alone. You see Snapchat and Instagram Stories of everyone out and about, and that’s tough. But it was never enough to make me want to stop what I was doing or leave to go and join them.”

Almost 25 now, Zac has ambitions and plans to travel and live life with his girlfriend (who also works at Kita). He isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be doing the overnights at Kita, but he wants to see it through.

“Personally, I’ll be here until the end. We’re just trying to figure out when that is,” says Zac.

“That said, I definitely want to stay in the industry. I’d love to explore different avenues, and with the rise of social media and marketing, something I’ve become really passionate about, I think I could find a space in that world while still staying connected to hospitality.

“I don’t know if I want to pass the torch just yet. I want to soak it all in for a little longer.”

Kita is located at the Narrabundah shops and is open from 6pm-6am Tuesday to Saturday. You can follow Kita (@kita.cbr) and Zac (@_zacyoung_) on Instagram.