Queanbeyanites - and Canberrans too, if you like - rejoice. The old Central Cafe, icon of our great town since 1979, is set to re-open. You just can't call it the Central anymore.
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Brothers Esteban and Adrian Malmierca are the new tenants at 111 Monaro Street, the long-term home of the cafe famous for giant serves of almost everything on the menu.
The brothers - originally from Sydney suburb Minto - have lived in Queanbeyan for the past 13 years and were devastated when the legendary main street cafe closed earlier this year.
In April, Alam Investments Pty Ltd, the owners of Central Cafe, entered voluntary liquidation. It seemed like the final chapter on almost four decades of hot chips and gravy, giant plates of mixed grill and even bigger plates of eggs benedict.
But when Adrian - who managed the Central Cafe for eights year on behalf of the Mastoris family - struggled to find somewhere to get a good breakfast in Queanbeyan a couple of months ago, he knew the cafe had left a huge gap in the city's dining scene.
"When I heard the tenancy was up for grabs I spoke to Esteban and we decided to just go for it," Adrian said.
"It's such an iconic location."
A significant renovation of the cafe's interior is underway and staff are already being recruited, but the brothers won't be keeping the venue's famous name. Instead, it'll be known as Cafe 111 - named after its address on Monaro Street.
"We definitely need to start fresh," Esteban said.
"We'll stay true to the elements that made this place so successful previously - but times change.
"And this is just one of those things that needs to change unfortunately."
It's no surprise the brothers are already being, ahem, grilled on the menu - and the number one question is whether or not the famous mixed grill will be back. (The mixed grill features eight styles of meat - pork chops, lamb chops, sausage, ham, bacon, chicken, steak and lamb's fry - and was a favourite post-footy training meal for the city's union and league players.)
"We're going to modernise the menu - try and keep up with the times but then still stay true to particular elements of the original Central brand," Esteban said.
"We're working on a base menu with potential chefs but we're keen to open it up to the public.
"If they've got any recommendations or suggestions or things they really love or would like to see [on the menu] I'd love to see that come through."
And when it comes to specialist advice on how to make the cafe at 111 Monaro Street a success, Adrian and Esteban couldn't have asked for a better consultant. Original owner John Danassis, who opened the cafe on the main street in 1979 when Queanbeyan's population was barely 8000, has been helping the Malmierca brothers with menu planning.
"When the cafe closed my heart broke," John said. "But these boys have the community at heart.
"My advice? Don't worry, the customers will come in for sure. Everybody knows the shop - Canberra and Queanbeyan, Bungendore, the whole of Australia.
"I bet you 200 per cent, they are doing the right thing for Queanbeyan. My best wishes to the boys."
Cafe 111 is due to open late November.
If you have ideas for the new menu email Esteban: cafe111@outlook.com.au
