It’s a tough gig for café and restaurant owners of late; the price of ingredients is skyrocketing, rents and utilities are going up, and many potential customers are increasingly struggling to make ends meet.
In fact, the number of insolvencies in the Australian accommodation and food services sector has doubled over the past year according to the corporate regulator ASIC.
But one Kelmscott gem is triumphantly bucking the trend, and word-of-mouth about its strong signature coffee and reasonably-priced foodie offerings has been spreading all over Perth.
That Plant Café and Bistro has had an exponential rise since moving to its current position on the corner of the Albany Highway and Page Road, 18 months ago.
In March, co-owners Ben Tanner and Josh Ryan teamed up with Rob Nixon (Nicko’s Kitchen) to introduce a dinner service to the popular brunch and lunch spot.
The steadily growing queue of people visiting each day has meant they’ve gone from five staff members to 25 in the space of a year.
And two months ago, they opened a sister café of the same name in North Fremantle.
“It’s been a big job getting this place to where we are right now,” Josh said.
“And trying to get it to run seamlessly day in, day out.”
“But every week is just getting better and better,” Ben said. “It’s exciting.”
“And people are obviously voting with their feet,” Rob said. “Watching it grow has been good – especially at a time when others are doing it tough.”
The online reviews pouring in speak for themselves.
“Ladies and gentlemen, fabulous experience. If you haven’t yet, do it. The dinner service especially is epic in its own right. Have been amazed time and time again. Great coffee, great breakfast and Nicko sorts dinner service to a tea (pun intended),” Michael Godfrey said.
“Do yourself a favour and support this local gem.”
To garnish the point, only three weeks after Executive Chef Rob Nixon had brought his Nicko’s Kitchen family across for the new dinner service, a little birdie told him they’d already captured the attention of industry pundits.
A couple of weeks ago they got official confirmation That Plant Café and Bistro had been selected as one of seven Gold Plate Awards finalists in the state in the Modern Australian Dining category.
“I was so proud,” Rob said. “Making that call to Ben and hearing him emotional on the phone was the best feeling. It really is something special to be recognised in this way and it’s lifted the morale of everyone here.
“Honestly, it’s a testament to the team we’ve got here that we can come on board and within a few weeks be thought of as a real contender.
“We’re hoping to go all the way.”
But Rob’s certainly not counting his chickens yet – he knows there’s some stiff competition in their category.
“We’re up against some heavyweights like Sandalford Wines – I mean, they’ve got a helipad and sweeping vistas,” he said.
“We can’t compete with the Swan Valley on that front. All we can do is focus on that experience people get from the moment they walk through the door.
“And everyone’s on board with the culture of providing the best possible service we can.
“We treat every day like it’s opening day – you’ve got to keep that level of consistency.
“It’s taxing, but that’s how you get recognised as one of the seven best in WA.”
The Gold Plate Awards is an annual not-for-profit event of the Catering Institute Australia.
This year’s winners will be announced at a Gala Dinner on October 28 at the Optus Stadium.
