It's ironic that most modern convenience stores aren't always, well, so convenient. Sure, you can pick up a bottle of Dare and a sossie roll made from anything but real meat, but perhaps suburban neighbourhoods around Melbourne deserve something a bit more spesh.
Enter Breadcetera, a new modern market-style shop from the hospo experts behind Riserva, Baia di Vino and one of Melbourne's hottest new restaurants right now, Lucia. It's not a café and neither is it a supermarket, but rather more like a new-school milk bar – with a handy grab bag of all sorts of both edible and non-edible knick-knacks. Its Instagram bio sums its selection up as "the best of what you're looking for and things you never knew existed."
Co-owner Frank Ciorciari shares the idea was driven by a desire to pick up day-to-day essentials, on-the-go: “I not only work in the area but live in Malvern East with my family – and it’s always been missing a place where you can pick up those last-minute specialty ingredients, take-home meals and of course, delicious coffee. We didn’t want to overcomplicate it. Great bread, coffee, and food made fresh every day. That’s the core – everything else is just a thoughtful addition”.
Located just two doors down from Riserva, Breadcetera stocks fresh bread (hence the name), plus an assortment of quality pantry staples and specialty gourmet goods – think fancy pastries from Austro, jams and preserves, takeaway pasta, pre-mixed aperitifs and boutique liqueurs. There's even a dedicated homeware selection in case you need to gift someone a set of cocktail glasses or a bougie candle in a hurry. Maison Balzac, anyone?
For those who are hungry and in need of an easy takeaway lunch, an excellent sanga menu offers a concise but compelling assortment of options; think chilli-spiked tuna melts, freshly made egg and bacon muffins and more delish savouries, which are bound to evolve over time. Breadcetera, welcome to the neighbourhood.