The difficulties of running a local café

Monsieur Poisson and I have been frequenting a local café by the name of Houlihans for about 9 months now and have observed its changing tides. It’s in a high traffic area near two entranceways to a major shopping centre, close to buses and a train station, and so is in an easily accessible location. But for whatever reason, it has had to shrink its menu and make major changes to its opening times in the short-ish time following its revamp from its previous owners under the same name.

It really affirms the idea that there are many hurdles to running a small eatery, despite it being the dream of many food-lovers, and that a lot of dedication is required. Despite there being good food on a reasonably-priced menu, current owner and barista Anthony has had to give up notions of introducing a tapas and cocktail menu for evenings and, in more recent times, opening during the evenings altogether. It turns out that the time, effort and outlay of costs for staff and operating are simply disproportionate to the returns.

And this is despite serving juices and soft-drinks which are 30-50% larger than most cafés yet charging similar prices, as well as tasty fare such as the Wagyu burger below. It’s around $16 from memory and the sizeable damper roll is packed with a thick, juicy patty along with plenty of other fresh fillings and comes with a choice of shoestring fries or salad.

For the same price there’s also a grilled chicken or Moroccan lamb burger (pictured below) on offer. Served on the same damper roll, the lamb burger is less meaty than the Wagyu but is more saucy with the inclusions of babaganouj and yoghurt with again a choice of salad or fries on the side.

The food servings are generous and the place is often full of people at weekends enjoying brunch or lunch, but I’m not around to see what business is like on weekdays. Anthony’s talking of adding scones and cakes to the menu which, of course, I’m most looking forward to but whether it catches on with the local crowds is another matter.

So if there’s a small local eatery that you like, make sure you support it by eating there and telling people that you know about it! And, if you happen to be in Chatswood, drop in to say hi to Anthony – he makes a mean coffee and is the only café that serves Campos in the immediate area.

Houlihans

Shop 5, 376 Victoria Ave (entrance on Anderson St), Chatswood NSW

Tel: (02) 9415 3300

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  7:30am-4pm

                        Sat  8am-4am

Sun  8am-3:30pm

happy eating!