My Mistress Clayfield founder speaks out after mysterious ‘new possibilities’ sign appears

The co-founder of a popular Brisbane cafe that shut unexpectedly has broken her silence on the shock closure and a mystery message in the window.

My Mistress cafe in Clayfield closed suddenly last week. Now one of its owners has revealed what happened.

Co-founder of a popular cafe in an up-market inner Brisbane suburb has spoken out after shock closure.

Loyal customers were left shocked as online rumours circulated last week that My Mistress cafe, which boasts more than 8000 social media followers, had closed for good.

Now, nine years after the cafe’s opening, co-founder Rhiannon Redmond tells the story of My Mistress’s beginnings and explains the mysterious sign, scrawled in red, in the cafe window.

The mysterious sign that appeared in the window of My Mistress cafe in Clayfield.

Ms Redmond, who also founded She Bangs Coffee in Albion in 2013, said she happened upon the Sandgate Road business by chance.

“I remember the sushi train Clayfield had just opened and I rode my bike there being an Albion local for a long time,” she said.

“It was so jam packed I opted for takeaway and on the way back, the love heart eyes popped out of my head at the beautiful leafy sage commercial character building on the corner.

“It was love at first sight [and] the ‘for lease’ signs baffled me, ‘It has to be a cafe. Why isn’t it a cafe? How did It not get snapped up immediately?’

“I had worked out the fit-out in three minutes flat and the legend owners’ number was in my phone under ‘dream cafe’.”

My Mistress in Clayfield.

The cafe soon became one of the best in Clayfield, generating rave reviews online for the quality of its food.

Ms Redmond, who has been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, said My Mistress Café was conceptualised to be an inclusive space with a mission to make ‘consistently amazing coffee’.

“Over the last few years, I’ve tried my best to maintain my passion for hospo life but I’ve reached a stage where I’m ready for a change.

“I had really forgotten what the most fundamental part of My Mistress and that is … the customer. I take responsibility for losing sight of this.” she said.

A sign in the window of My Mistress in Clayfield after customers were left shocked by its sudden closure.

Alongside a “sorry, we are closed” notice in the window, a message scrawled in red said: “The door has not closed. In fact, it has now opened to new possibilities” with a phone number, which Ms Redmond urges people to use to get in contact.

“It is my duty of care and responsibility to find an excellent operator with the same or similar ethos to take over My Mistress.

“The sign is for a person or group that are looking for an epic opportunity to be a shining light for the people of Clayfield.” Ms Redmond said.

Ms Redmond thanked Clayfield locals for their support of her business over the last nine years.

“I am forever grateful for the laughs, banter, loyalty and love that has happened between these four walls.” she said.

Ms Redmond also said she was working on a new project in a different industry, set to launch in November this year.