The Little Man Cafe is located along the main community strip in the quaint part of Seddon. The neighbourhood in this area has undergone a shift in pace over the last few years of a gentrifi ed nature which sees more cafes and small businesses sprouting up accompanying the infl ux of younger families moving into the area.
The cafe occupies a corner lot once belonged to the old Post Off ice which has since moved a couple of spots up the street. The insides of the building was left severely dilapidated, however given its prime corner shop location and prominent street frontage, the new owners were keen to revitalise this empty shell of a building and in doing so, contribute to the growth of Victoria Street. Despite the long and narrow interior (80sqm), owner’s desire was for a designed space which refl ected the idea of ‘home’; as though the cafe is playing host and customers are walking straight into a friend’s kitchen. An open plan layout was adopted (not dissimilar to an open-plan kitchen in a residential dwelling) to maximise the use of space and take advantage of the length of the shop. A fully equipped kitchen was allocated to the back of house, and a secondary feature kitchen (complete with a generous back bench and free standing island) marked as the centrepiece of shop was strategically positioned to allow patrons to interact with the barista and strike up conversations like one would around a friend’s kitchen island.
