The bookshop owner gives us her inside scoop on the inner west neighbourhood
Meredith, you’ve run your bookshop in the area for a long time now. What is it that makes Glebe special?
One of the things that appeals to me most about the area is that it’s not homogenous. What we’ve got is a genuinely interesting mix – there’s such a diverse range of people who are attracted to Glebe. It’s not all well-heeled, or all students: it’s a big melting pot. It’s also got lots of personality, with heaps of small, unique shops. A fair amount of the buildings are still original, which gives it a real sense of character. I love the vibrancy and, after 22 years, I think I love it more, not less.
What do you think draws people to the suburb?
Glebe is a village and that fills a deeply human need: to feel connected. Coming to a place where people ask, ‘How are you? How’s your little dog?’ is so important because people have this hunger to have contact, to recognise locals and know the shopkeepers.
Sappho is a bookshop, café, bar… what was your vision for the venue when it first opened?
It started off as a bookshop and then it just grew. Customers kept saying, ‘Why don’t you put a café in?’. We moved down here (from the original shop further down Glebe Point Road) so that we could have bigger premises with the café, and then it was, ‘Why don’t you have a bar?’. It just kept growing. Now it’s as if it has a life of its own and we’re just trying to manage this beast!
And the building itself is quite eclectic...
It’s beautiful. It’s over 100 years old. It’s the sort of building where it’s an adventure to walk through, which is pretty rare these days. And people don’t expect us to have a big courtyard out the back. I hear people walking past saying, ‘Wait till you see what’s out here’.
What other shops in Glebe do you recommend?
The Glass Artists’ Gallery is incredible. It’s part of what I love about the area. To have something that specific – a gallery that just sells artisan glass – is fantastic. Florilegium is another one. It’s on St Johns Road and it’s a specialist garden bookshop but it also has books on birds. Another shop that we have a lot to do with is the Cruelty Free Shop; they’ve given us a lot of help in developing our vegan menu. They’re an incredibly enthusiastic group because they’re so passionate about what they do.
What about a caffeine fix?
My second favourite spot for coffee, after Sappho Café, of course, is Sonoma; they know what they’re doing there. There’s also a tiny, very cute café right up near Wigram Road called Il Cortile Caffè. It typifies the adventurous, individual character of Glebe.
Where are your favourite places to eat in the area?
Thievery is absolutely outstanding. It's got an incredibly creative young chef and I was blown away by it when I went. It’s as good as anything I’ve ever had and at an absolute fraction of the price. Another unusual place I really like is Na Zdrowie, an authentic Polish place. They do the best baked cheesecake in the universe but the soup is what I go back for. Glebe Point Diner is my favourite special occasion spot.
Back to Sappho, who do you get coming into the shop?
There’s a big mix. I’m not interested in the hipster scene; I want an all-welcome, all-races, very embracing and inclusive culture here. We’re part of the Welcome Here Project (an LGBTQIA safe space) and that’s very important to me. We get reading groups, groups of philosophers, students, as well as organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières and Greenpeace, who come to the courtyard here to have their meetings.
You also run poetry nights at the bookshop. How did that come about?
It started off really small and then they got progressively bigger and bigger and now it’s huge. There’s an initial section where published poets do formal readings, then there’s an open section but it’s fairly time-restricted. You have to be quick to get on the list and there’s a two-minute time limit. We also run an open mike night, which is more informal, where people can do performance poetry, or they might get up and perform a song they’ve been working on, or a stand-up routine, or whatever.
There’s a botanist’s paradise hiding out on St Johns Road in Glebe. Green thumbed bookworms in the know keep this specialist garden bookshop in business, which has shelves of hardbacks and well loved second-hand tomes covering permaculture, landscaping, obscure plants and flowers and tips for living more sustainably. There’s a good selection of books on birds, too. It’s a hidden gem for serious horticulturalists and everyday gardeners alike.
Artist and art educator Maureen Cahill first set up the Glass Artists’ Gallery in Paddington in 1982, before eventually settling in Glebe, where she’s established a gallery stretching over two floors showcasing contemporary glass works by Australian and New Zealand artists at all stages in their career. Cahill’s own work is on display in a permanent installation over three levels in Parliament House, Canberra. She also established the country’s first full time university glass course and was founding head of the Glass Studio at the Sydney College of the Arts.
Founder Jess Bailey started the business out of her bedroom when she was frustrated at how hard it was to access vegan products, now the Cruelty Free Shop on Glebe Point Road puts on an annual Vegan Day Out and it hosts frequent book launches in store. Go here to stock up on certified cruelty-free cosmetics like Natio make-up and sun cream, Kester Black nail polishes, Sukin moisturisers and household cleaning products by Earth.
Sonoma may be a giant in the artisan bread game, but the bakers have maintained a high level of quality in their product. Sonoma’s first sourdough starter was smuggled back from Northern California, where co-founder Andrew Connole learnt how to bake, in the ’90s. The signature miche loaf is a good deal darker than the other sourdoughs on this list – you can tell it has spent time in a wood-fired oven from the deep coloured crust and its intoxicating, slightly smoky aroma.
A little storybook of a café that offers a cracking cup of joe, a whole menu of piadinas – flat, Italian toasties – filled with ham, salami, roast vegetables and cheese, and the most adorable, tiny muffins you’ve ever seen.
Don't you love when a place breaks with tradition, and actually pulls it off? Thankfully, the folks at Thievery are mixing things up right. A tall dome of creamy hummus is doused with nutty, paprika-tinted melted butter, and smoke-rich baba ganoush is served with a generous folding of crunchy pinenuts and big dollops of tart, full-bodied sheep’s yoghurt. It’s clever cooking. Which makes sense, given the head chef is Jordan Muhamad, late of Rockpool and Chin Chin.
Traditional decor and traditional Polish food such as pierogi (Polish dumplings), are on offer in this Glebe eatery.
This place is the antidote to bad dining. Think roast chook with bread sauce and super sweet corn kernels, black fig tart, peach Melba and honey ice-cream. Seasonal produce prepared and served with the utmost care and professionalism. Simple, locally sourced ingredients are cooked with skill and care. The menu changes daily and the wine list is completely local with an eye to the biodynamic.
The converted terrace house in on Glebe Point Road is packed to the rafters with secondhand books. Downstairs you’ll find a treasure trove of fiction, from Amis to Zelazny. Wend your way up the stairs, and you'll come to books on history and culture. Venture further up again to a room dedicated to solely to secondhand music books and sheet music. When you’ve finished foraging, settle in in Sappho's courtyard café with a book in hand. There are open mic nights and poetry readings here on alternate Tuesdays.
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