Botanica defies odds to open new cafe in riverside suburb

When many cafes are closing due to COVID, a Brisbane couple is boldly expanding, with one new location and another tipped for mid-year.

Defying depressing COVID trends in hospitality, Brisbane café owners Alison and Brett Huxley are poised to expand, adding a fourth cafe to their Botanica Real Food empire.

The latest sweet and savoury food mecca, in Hawthorne, throws open its doors on Monday, January 25, with Mrs Hutley saying the upmarket suburb was one they’d been eyeing off for a long time.

A sneak peek at Botanica Real Food’s soon-to-open shop in Hawthorne. Picture: Supplied/Chantelle Grady

“The interest has always been there from our customers and we were just waiting for the perfect location,” she said.

The 265 Hawthorne Road spot was previously a small news agency which has been redeveloped as part of a new “micro precinct”.

The Hutleys, who have two young children, worked as private chefs for rich-lister Australian families prior to starting their business in Brisbane in 2013.

Botanica’s eggplant and parsley salad. Picture: Supplied/Chantelle Grady .

Ms Hutley said the seed for Botanica was sown when she worked for James Packer and his family.

“I was working with people who could eat absolutely anything they wanted to. However, what we saw was that they wanted to eat salads and very healthy food, not luxurious banquets.

Brett and I decided that we wanted to give everyone access to the type of food we were cooking for these wealthy families,” she said.

The Hawthorne store joins other locations in Teneriffe and Camp Hill and the flagship in

Red Hill, with a fifth location tipped to open later this year.

Alison and Brett Hutley in their Teneriffe shop. Picture: Claudia Baxter