Sea Breeze Cafe

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Posted 2014-07-06 by Jen ⇒ follow

on the Edithvale beach front and below the Edithvale Life Saving Club started out as a kiosk in the 80's as part of the Life Saving Club. It was not much more than just a hole in the wall said Stephen the owner, who hails from Croatia originally. He reckons it was still 10 years too early when it became a coffee shop in 1994.

He was one of the first to have tables and chairs on the beach and at that time, only Lygon street, St. Kilda and Fitzroy were the other locations that enjoyed that privilege. He had to get a special permit from the City of Kingston who had by-laws against it. He tells the tale of how at the time the Council wanted to know why he would want a cafe with tables and chairs on the beach. He basically told them they ought to go to Europe and check out the lifestyle there and how this was nothing out of the ordinary.

The cafe did not do well in the beginning as the concept was unfamiliar and not yet popular. Due to this Stephen was primarily earning his living as a Fitter and Turner and the coffee shop was just a job on the side. In 2002 while he was doing some painting maintenance on the cafe, a local lady came by (apparently she was somewhat eccentric) and chastised him for not having coffee on the premises at the time. He told her to come back again and he'd have coffee for her. She did and he thought to himself perhaps the trend is changing, and since that day he has never looked back. The cafe went from strength to strength and thrived since then. I do believe he might even have thought this lady the lucky charm that made the shift.

Stephen is very community minded and supports schools, clubs and the cancer foundation. He became a life member of the Life Saving Club and has sponsored them since his 13 year old son (who is now 42) was involved with the club.

The Cafe is at number 15 The Esplanade in Edithvale and the number there is (03) 9773 0375. They do have a Facebook page, but it does not look like its their main priority. They close on Mondays during the winter months (approximately between the Queens birthday to Fathers Day) and may also be closed on certain days during winter, depending on a few factors like the weather conditions on the beach. Other than that they're open from 8.30 am to 3pm everyday.