It took Daniel Haddad, the owner of this quaint newly opened café in Fairfield, a while to decide on a name. After scratching his brain for months, however, he finally found the answer in the citrus source in the café’s back yard.
The brightly coloured name is an appropriate label for this new venture, a family-friendly operation on a quaint side-street in Melbourne’s northern suburb. With space to spare and a kid’s corner with books and toys galore, welcoming guests young and old was a key goal for Daniel.
“There are a lot of young families in Fairfeild, so we wanted a kid friendly place with room for prams,” he says. “There’s plenty of space for moms to come in and be comfortable.”The café is also family run, with Daniel’s brother, father and aunt all pitching in. He completed all the renovations with his father, who built all the furniture, while his aunt and brother help out in the kitchen.
“I couldn’t see myself working for someone else,” says Daniel about why he chose to open the café. “It was always just a matter of finding a place.”
As a trained chef, Daniel overseas the menu with his aunt. The food is all home- made style Lebanese, with incredibly fresh dips, skewers, falafel and a great range of breakfast items.
As for the coffee, the company opted to go with Map after searching for a roaster who could help them grow their business. Daniel notes that as they were starting up, the Map staff were in there on a daily basis helping them set up. They even helped them find a barista – Dean – who is appropriately Italian to go with Map’s Italian roasted beans.