Now Open: An Old Denim Factory in Murrumbeena Gets New Life as Levi – BROADSHEET
https://amp.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/levi
Published on 30 January 2020by CHYNNA SANTOS
Settle in at this spacious warehouse eatery just over the road from the train station, and order the fiery chili eggs, a roast-chicken roll with stuffing and gravy, or a breakfast pavlova.
It’s a Monday afternoon, and many of the 170 seats at new Murrumbeena cafe Levi are taken. Families eat lunch near the kids’ corner at the back, solo coffee drinkers are absorbed in newspapers, and a dog is asleep at his owner’s feet in the front room, where the retractable roof has been opened to let more sunlight in.
Levi is by co-owners Harry Butler (who also owns Frank’s cafe in Cheltenham) and business partners Lucas Sproson and Kellie Buntz. They opened the venue in December, aiming to become the relaxed new neighbourhood go-to.
The name Levi is an homage to the site’s former life as a denim factory. There are subtle design nods to its history – some obvious, some quite subtle. The facade has a bronze-toned circular plaque with the venue’s name – look closely and you’ll notice it resembles a jeans button. The signage hanging off one side is draped as if on a clothesline. And the paint job around the brick exterior is blue most of the way down, until it switches to white at the bottom – like rolled up cuffs.
Inside that paint job is reversed, while distressed brick counters, glass walls, large plants and long communal benches (made from timber that was once part of the factory’s roof) break the large warehouse-like space into sections.
The design is by architecture firm Ewert Leaf, which also designed Frank’s, Gathered, Sebastian, Asado and Palermo.
“We wanted [the space] to look like it’s always been here,” Butler says. “We’ve used recycled timber floorboards out of an old school in regional Victoria so they look a bit beaten up. It’s the same with the bricks.”
Chef Emma Jeffrey (ex-Mammoth, Gilson, Hammer & Tong) is making poached eggs with a herby, labneh-like whipped yoghurt, chilli butter, peri-peri sauce and fried curry leaves, all served on two thick slices of Turkish bread to soak up the sauce. A breakfast pavlova comes with toasted meringue, poached peaches, a warm white-chocolate mousse and an icy mandarin granita. “I wanted it summery and refreshing, with a hot-and-cold element to it. It’s a traditional Australian dessert that people know and love,” says Jeffrey.
There’s also banana bread baked every morning, and later in the day you can order house-made pappardelle with mushroom ragu, a runny egg yolk and pecorino; a roast-chicken roll with stuffing and Kewpie mayo, served with shoestring fries and gravy on the side; and a harvest bowl with edamame falafel, grilled broccolini, beetroot tabouli, peanut-butter hummus, seeds and sumac.
Coffee beans come from Hallelujah Coffee, and there’s Prana Chai and Grounded Pleasures hot chocolate. There are plenty of alternative milks from Minor Figures and Happy Happy Soy Boy. Most of the wine is from local Victorian producers, and there are three beers from Brunswick’s Foreigner Brewing Co.
The venue has already garnered regulars in its first month. Locals were the first to find out the new neighbourhood spot had opened (through a Murrumbeena-focused Facebook group), and a walking club that stops by Frank’s every Friday detoured here to show their support, too.
“You can’t force these things. You have to build that connection over time and get to know your people, show respect to your neighbourhood,” Butler says. “We’re not here to push the latest, flashiest thing. We’re setting up here for the long-term – if the community will have us.”
Levi
6 Railway Parade, Murrumbeena
(03) 9563 2124
Hours:
Mon to Sat 7am–4pm
Sun 8am–3pm
This article first appeared on Broadsheet on January 30, 2020. Menu items may have changed since publication.