Ocean Parish, the son of the owner of the legendary Studland business Joe’s Cafe, has branched out and opened a new cafe at Shell Bay in Studland, Dorset, offering the same great service, much loved coffee and homemade food.
The Drive By Cafe in the National Trust’s Shell Bay car park near the Sandbanks Ferry and Shell Beach, has got permission to operate until the end of August 2025, offering refreshments and snacks to beachgoers at the north end of Studland Bay, and possibly those stuck in queues for the ferry over the peak visitor months.
Ocean has invested in the very latest professional coffee machine to help in his quest for the perfect brew
Amazing coffee and friendly service
Ocean Parish was awarded the tender for the summer holiday service at Shell Bay by the landowner, the National Trust.
The cafe opened on Monday 14th July 2025 and has started to build up a great reputation of its own following the same philosophy that has made Joe’s Cafe at South Beach so popular – amazing coffee and friendly service.
While the Drive By Cafe is at Shell Bay for a limited time this summer, Ocean has plans to offer an off season mobile service to businesses, office parks and building sites making 30 minute stops offering hot food and drink.
And he is hoping that a successful summer offering at Shell Bay could see him become a regular fixture.
Joe’s Cafe at South Beach, run by Ocean’s mother, has a superb reputation for its friendly service
“A very similar model to South Beach”
Ocean Parish said:
“My mum Joe owns the South Beach cafe and I have run it for her in the past, but this is my business – it’s a very similar model and uses some of the same staff, but it is a separate business.
“I had been thinking about this setting for a while as a good place to site a cafe – I had been looking at places to take my business and wondering why there was nowhere offering quick food around Shell Bay – it seemed like a natural place to offer a service.
“Then the National Trust put this site out to public tender in April 2025 and I didn’t hesitate to apply.
“At the moment, it is only a short lease so I’m just here for the summer, but I am hoping that it will get extended if the planning application goes through. As it stands, I am here until the end of August.”
The wide open beaches of Shell Bay are now served by their own cafe
“A nice chat in a beautiful setting”
Ocean added:
“Shell Beach is so big and open and a lot of people spill out onto it when the other Studland beaches get super busy in the height of summer, but it’s not necessarily the first beach that people think of.
“It is a beautiful beach, but there’s not much in the way of facilities so we are very happy to do something about that!
“We want to run the cafe in a very ethical way, and we have put a lot of effort into our coffee, which I am confident is the best in the area.
“What my mum has set up works so well on South Beach, though my mum doesn’t always see it as a business, she wants to please everyone and have a nice chat in a beautiful setting, and I have to keep reminding her that we are a business and do have to make some money, too!”
Loungers and beach toys are now available on Shell Bay beach for cafe customers to use
Food and drink down to the beach
The cafe will offer home made cakes, like chocolate brownies and honey flapjack, sausage rolls – and a vegan alternative – bacon and cheese turnovers, home made cheese and onion or tikka pasties and Cornish pasties.
There is also a range of Purbeck Ice Cream, cold drinks including Ocean’s homemade lemonade and a selection of iced coffees, along with lattes, cappucinos, flat white, espresso, mocha and other drinks from the very latest coffee machine.
There are benches to sit down and enjoy the food and drink at the edge of the car park, and also a number of loungers that Ocean has put on the beach for customers to use, along with a box of beach toys for visitors to borrow.
Staff will take food and drinks down to the beach for people who are enjoying time on the sands, and Ocean is hoping that when queues build up for the ferry, with the right safety precautions, they will be able to take a cool box along the line and offer ice cream and cold drinks.
Ocean Parish is looking forward to welcoming a lot of customers to the Drive By Cafe this summer
“A good experience first and foremost”
Ocean Parish said:
“My mum has china tea and coffee mugs at South Beach, but we don’t have a sink and proper drainage system here, so we are using fully biodegradable and compostable cups instead, and trying to persuade people to bring their own cups, offering 20 pence off a drink if they do.
“We love being able to offer real china and not doing takeaway at South Beach, but things will have to be a little different here – though we are still going to offer amazing coffee and home made cakes.
“We are hoping to have the same ethos here, to please our customers and give them a quality service, offer some loungers and some toys to borrow and return.
“The loungers have a QR code on them that people can scan and make a small payment if they want, but we want them to have a good experience first and foremost and we are not looking to charge a lot of money on them.”
Joe’s Cafe at South Beach Studland has taught Ocean a lot about running a successful seaside business
Plans for a longer term offer
Emma Wright, visitor operations and experience officer at the National Trust, said:
“We are very pleased to be supporting Ocean Parish in this venture, as a local young entrepreneur whose family has long been connected with Studland.
“The Drive By Cafe will enable us to test out how well a summer catering outlet can work at Shell Bay, so we can make plans for a longer term offer in the future.”
Coffee in crockery at Joe’s Cafe on South Beach, Studland
Further information
- Explore Studland’s four beautiful beaches on the National Trust’s website
