Perth café owner and former Olympian Eamon Sullivan was out with his family when he stumbled on a vacant store at the local Mezz Shopping Centre. He thought it would be perfect to extend his May Street Larder concept.
“The previous tenants vacated about a year ago and I remember walking by one day with the family and mentioned May Street Larder would do pretty well in this area,” Eamon says.
“At the time, my wife said, ‘no way’. I was busy enough with everything we had going on, so I left it. A month later, the landlords got in contact directly and asked if we wanted to put a café there. I took it as a sign.”
The new May Street Larder shares a menu with the original Fremantle venue. A standout is the Soul Sandwich – a polenta cheese waffle, served with buttermilk fried chicken, smoked sour cream, chilli maple syrup, and avocado.
“It sounds really naughty, but when you finish it, you find it’s actually quite light. You don’t feel like you’ve eaten that combination of food,” Eamon says.
“We change our dishes quite often, working with fresh and in-season ingredients, but there are a few staples that stick around. I suppose you could say we’re known for comfort food served in a modern Australian way that also doesn’t leave you feeling gross.”
Eamon says serving restaurant-quality food in a café environment is part of what has led to May Street Larder’s success. Also contributing is his ongoing relationship with Campos Coffee, serving the roaster’s Superior Blend, rotating single origins, and premium range – including coffees from the Cup of Excellence competition.
“I’ve been involved with Campos since opening my first café in 2011 and always found them great to deal with. Their efforts towards sustainability and investing in the farms they buy coffees from – helping build roads, schools, and facilities in those areas – is pretty commendable,” Eamon says.
May Street Larder @ The Mezz prepares its coffee with an under-the-counter Modbar espresso machine, one of the first in Western Australia.
“The baristas can see past the machine and hand things through, instead of having to go around what is usually quite a bulky machine,” Eamon says. “It also serves as a good talking point. Customers come in and wonder what it is. It creates a conversation, that’s for sure.”
Since opening in March, the café has proved popular with the young families Eamon says populate the area.
“We sort of lean into the family-friendly location. We’ve got an indoor play area where the kids can run around and space where parents can have a cup of coffee, read the paper, and eat a pastry while they relax,” he says.
Eamon says the best part of opening the new location has been having the local community embrace May Street Larder @ The Mezz.
“It’s so fulfilling when you’re finally serving customers, regulars are coming back, and you see people enjoy their meals,” Eamon says.
“You can almost lip read when they drink their coffee or bite their food and tilt their head back and you can see their enjoyment. That’s the rewarding part for me and what I enjoy.”
May Street Larder @ The Mezz
1/148 Scarborough Beach Road, Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia, 6016
Open seven days 7am to 3pm
(08) 9444 3703
