Sydney Eat Street: Lockdown leads to small business food success
When the lockdown hit last year, many Australian business got knocked down, but there also those that got back up and didn’t just survive, they thrived.
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Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Minister Stuart Ayres is impressed with how local businesses are adapting to the challenges of Covid-19 and lockdowns.
“It’s heartening to see so many hospitality businesses finding ways to innovate and stay connected with customers by providing takeaway, collaborating with other businesses, continuing to showcase NSW produce, and offering prepare-at-home meals,” Mr Ayres says.
“During this lockdown, we’ve seen the early launch of restaurant delivery service Providoor in Sydney and a growing groundswell of community support to buy local, showing that together, we cannot only make it through this challenging time but also thrive.
“Social media and word-of-mouth are an easy way to let others know about the great Sydney and NSW food experiences you are enjoying during lockdown that they should try now, and in future when restrictions are eased.”
We take a look at some of the small businesses which excelled during lockdown 2020 — and have continued to thrive since then.
Big Sam Young
There are many layers to Sam Young (aka Big Sam Young), and we haven’t even started talking about his pre-made hearty lasagnes.
Proving that no one is immune to lay-offs, Sam lost his job as a head chef with Merivale at the start of the first lockdown last year.
“That kind of changed my life completely. From that day at the end of March last year, until now, I pretty much work seven days a week,” he says.
“But there’re so many incredible people that have helped me through this journey for the last 18 months. It’s really incredible.
“I love food. Food is my life. I’ve cooked to make people happy every day for the last 10 years, and all of a sudden, it’s gone.
“My mate has a cafe, Room 10, and he asked me if I’d be interested in doing take-home meals. I said yes right away without thinking about it.
“So, we’re about to launch, and then I saw it was spaghetti bolognese for the first week. Which I was like, ‘Why would I make that? No, I’m not making spaghetti’ (but) I gave it my own twist, and we sold 50 portions the first week.”
When the first lockdown was over, Sam kept up with the “almost ready meals” but also began hosting private dining experiences around NSW and beyond, with girlfriend and ex-sous chef at Poly, Grace Chen.
“We must have done 150-200 events since starting up last year,” he says.
“Then this year, when lockdown was announced again, we were actually going to the movies, and suddenly I started getting all these messages, cancelling their reservation for my private dining experience.
“So, right then and there in the cinema, I started selling the truffle pasta through my Instagram. I spent the whole movie watching my Instagram for orders.”
Now lasagne is on the menu.
“In the last eight weeks, we’ve sold one ton of lasagne. It’s an incredible number. I’m actually shocked myself because I thought people would buy it, but I didn’t think we’d be selling hundreds of lobster pasta dishes a day.”
Big Sam Young’s Mum’s Mixed Dumpling Pack ($80) — with nine each, chicken, prawn and pork dumplings; and Tagliolini Abalone with smoked butter and caviar ($90, serves 2), also proved a winner.
“Covid has definitely been a life-changing experience for me, like getting out there, putting yourself in an uncomfortable position, and you’ll learn you grow every day,” he says.
BSY At Home delivers throughout Greater Sydney, including Canberra. See website for delivery details and Instagram (@bigsamyoung) for weekly updates.
“I put up a different menu every week,” he says.
“We do different things all the time, but people keep asking for the lasagne and dumpling. We’re really lucky and really blessed.”
Take a tour of Sydney’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram or Twitter. #SydneyEatStreet
BART Jr
There are few silver linings to Covid-19 lockdowns, but for BART Jr in Redfern, George Woodyard says the changes made during lockdown last year have flowed on this year.
“We made so many changes in lockdown last year. We came out of lockdown with so many more efficiencies, and we ran better than ever,” she says.
“There were things we never get to fix, but that’s what was one of the big changes. I think for us, having the outdoor dining changed everything; I don’t know how now, we managed to fit 60 people in our restaurant.
“I don’t think we’ll ever go back to normal spacing. Yes, you have less bums on seats, but it’s just made it easier to move about.”
Never one to shy away from change, George’s menu is forever evolving, finding that sweet spot between upscale rustic and approachable gourmet, based on market-fresh produce and proprietors’ recommendations.
BART Jr has seen a significant increase in foot traffic since the start of this lockdown thanks in part to locals being out and about as well as their now-familiar BART MART, essentially a shopfront window turned corner store with everything from local produce and artisan products to quite possibly the largest organic and natural wine selection this side of the Hunter Valley.
Another win for BART Jr has been the introduction of her now-famous takeaway lobster rolls.
What was supposed to have been a one-off pre-order option has turned into a best (not to mention very fast) seller.
The first time it was posted as a special, all 60 sold out in an hour. Same for the second week. So now, the team makes 120 lobster rolls every Friday.
“We did it Almost Ready Meals and BART MART last year, so we sort of already had the cogs there,” she says.
“We knew what to do this time; we knew what worked.”
So why the lobster roll?
“I’ve done king prawns on my bar menu (but) there’s a restaurant in Melbourne that I love, and they do a small lobster roll. With the price of lobster being lower than normal (due to the surplus), I was just like, ‘Well, if we’re gonna do a lobster roll, now’s the time’.
“It’s essentially how I like to make my prawn rolls; I make them for friends and family at home at Christmas time, so I did the same thing, but it’s added a little lobster to the mix.
“It’s sort of a family thing. I’m a Queensland girl so, yeah, prawns. And lobster.”
These beauties are a hot number so check Facebook regularly to get a heads-up on when to order the lobster rolls and other weekly specials. (Pre-orders only). BART MART is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 12pm-6pm. Pre-order pick-up, 12pm-2.30pm
— 92 Pitt St Redfern; bartjr.com.au
Bodalla Dairy, Woollahra
Life is what happens when you put down your phone, and if you’re in Woollahra, when you look up, you just might find yourself standing in front of Bodalla Dairy’s Cow to Cone Ice Cream store.
“A lot of people are just now noticing us, many of them just from getting out on since they’re out walking more,” says Jane Stuart, who opened the shop in April as a way of selling the ice cream and cheeses that her mother and the rest of the family make at their dairy farm.
The native ingredient-inspired flavours such as Kakadu plum, Queensland lemon myrtle, Lilly Pilly, and muntrie berries have garnered Jane a loyal following, as has the shop itself, a veritable Slice of the South Coast with images of Bodalla Dairy farm adorning the walls and “Buy From the Bush” produce on the shelves, but her limited hours were holding back sales.
“I was like I can’t open past seven because I have to be at home to feed and take care of the so I thought that the tubs would be a way for people to still get the ice cream,” say says.
“I know people aren’t eating out, but they still want to treat themselves and they want to treat their family, but the problem was how do I you get people in the door to buy the tubs.”
The solution was inspired by the dilemma every parent is facing during lockdown — how to keep the kids occupied.
“I’ve got four kids, what can we do to make sure that we can bring some sort of sense of community, to our shops so we did a Lego lockdown competition,” she says.
“The kids really got into it and we got 52 entries, as well as heaps of thanks from parents who were grateful for the distraction.”
And of course, people bought more tubs.
“To keep that sense of community going, we then got the kids to write notes of encouragement to their friends. We put them in the window, and as of last Friday, we’ve had over 150 these brilliant, beautiful, colourful ones with all these beautiful things like ‘Hang in there’, ‘We’re going to do this together’, It won’t be long’.
“I see everyone just stopping to take photos, they’re all so moved by all these children.”
And the added bonus, they buy tubs of ice cream.
— 148 Queen St, Woollahra; bodalladiary.com.au
Fatcaron
It’s hard to imagine the phrase as a compliment, but Fatcaron wears the moniker “Covid-19 business” as a badge of honour.
They had only been in business for a few months, starting off at the Glebe Markets before investing in a bespoke white carriage bedecked with Victorian lace and bright flowers, they’d use for their pop-up shop.
It’s the perfect backdrop for their colourful French macarons — a version that is larger and chewier (as opposed to Italian macarons that are crumbly), and because it’s made with naturally sweet premium almond powder, there’s less sugar.
The result is a moist and chewy macron compared to the more crumbly Italian version.
Barely a week after their pop-up in World Square, the first lockdown came into effect but not before images of their cute and clever creations began showing up online.
“We noticed very early on that our products were becoming popular on Instagram and Facebook,” says owner Hera Lee.
So, rather than put all their resources into online orders and delivery, like so many other businesses were doing they “used the resources and outlets we already had – social media and a smartphone camera”.
“We ended up buying a used camera from a friend. We learned how to use it and practised taking photos,” she says.
“We also learned how to edit photos and then posted them to our socials for customers to like and share. The posts and stories did so well that we started to get more and more custom order requests.”
Their delivery expanded around Sydney, but Hera says the lockdown afforded them time to improve their techniques and better understand their customers.
“This was all something we were going to do; it just so happened that Covid-19 had made us evolve a tad faster.”
Bring a bit of fun and colour into your household with several different-sized packs including, “Pack A” – 20 Fatcarons with flavours ranging from mango cheesecake, peach oolong to rainbow cotton candy and classic coffee ($90).
Deliveries are made on select days, with free delivery within 20km of Homebush.
— fatcaron.wordpress.com; facebook.com/fatcaronofficial; Instagram: @fatcaron_official
Tsuru At Home
Tsuru is a symbol of good fortune and longevity. It’s pronounced ‘zu-ru’ and translates into English as “crane”. But it’s more than just symbolism to Tsuru At Home founder Ellen Tse.
“In light of everything that’s happened, and when remaining positive is getting harder each day, there’s always something that reminds me again, and again to always focus on what we can do, rather than what we can’t do,” she says.
Tsuru is famous for its origami-style packaging (offering younger customers to create an environmentally friendly toy and create a collection of their very own).
Every purchase at Tsuru supports childhood cancer research and prevention organisations. Key features of the menu are Bao (shaped like a half-moon, the soft pillowy steamed buns sandwich a variety of fillings, the signature Pork Belly Bun (a piece of luscious slow-braised pork belly with cucumber pickles), BBQ Hot & Spicy pork belly, BBQ Teriyaki Chicken, Roast Duck & Lychee, Shiitake and Tofu Teriyaki.
A regular on the food truck scene, Ellen says: “Tsuru bao buns have been the heart of our operations since we started food trucking back in 2012, as part of City of Sydney’s initial Food Truck program.
“Since then, we’ve had amazing years on the street doing what we absolutely love! Then Covid hit, it was unprecedented in the way that it was all so sudden and destroyed all that was living and breathing hospitality and events amongst others.”
Third-party delivery commissions weren’t viable for Tsuru because “the humble bao buns need to be consumed right after cooking”.
“That brought upon the conclusion that the last step of the meal kit would need to be completed at the home kitchens of the customers.”
Welcome, the Bao Kit – frozen bao buns, marinated meat, condiments such as lettuce, shallots, kimchi and different types of mayo.
“The whole process is fun, and on average takes no more than 30 minutes from opening the box to serving the bao buns piping hot on the table. Everything you need, including a step-by-step recipe card, is included. The only thing you’ll need to have in your kitchen is a pan to toss the marinated filling in and a steamer to steam the bao buns,” she says.
“We were over the moon when the public embraced it.”
Tsuru delivers Monday to Saturday within 22km of their Mascot HQ. Orders require a minimum spend of $50 with a flat rate delivery of $13-$39
Yang’s Ramen and Tacos
Lockdown may have changed everyone’s travel plans, but for Lex Wong, it was the little nudge he needed.
“Actually, these times are the perfect time to make changes that you were always too fearful of making because of public opinion,” he says.
“Or to find new and more efficient ways to do things and is the perfect time to plan/start a new project or hustle whilst everyone is looking for something new and exciting to do now or coming out of lockdown. Things are not the same, nor will they be for a very long time, so it really is adapt or die.”
Before the pandemic, Lex says: “I had a busy Modern Asian Restaurant (Yang & Co) but was already thinking of changing business models to something more economically viable but had no idea how to go about it.
“So when the pandemic hit and the first lockdown happened, there was this opportunity and time to plan the change – a new artisanal business model selling just Ramen and Tacos; comfort foods that could be high-end or economical (plus plenty of retail and wholesale opportunities).”
Yang & Co customers, particularly regulars who knew the brand, “were more willing to support a change during this time”.
For Lex, it was much better than becoming another statistic in the long list of businesses that succumbed to the lockdown.
Lex kept Yang & Co open for another two months after the first lockdown as a last hoorah and took the leap of faith. And it worked. While delivery is limited to within 2km from their location when restrictions ease, you’ll want to head to their shop for some Asian-inspired tacos such as ceviche of Ocean Trout cured in Nikkei Style Tiger’s Milk and House Sweet Miso or Chicken Curry and iceberg lettuce dressed in Nam Pla dressing as well as handmade ramen soups, sauces, and more.
Our other current lockdown projects include custom ramen noodles for wholesale, growing our herb and vegetable garden, and retail hot sauce line.
“We’re growing our own herbs and composting in the car park at the back of the shop,” he says.
Because, well, Covid lockdown.
— 79 Edinburgh Road, Castlecrag; yangsramenandtacos.com.au
Dan’s Pasta
Pandemic pasta is perfect literation for Dan’s Pasta.
“I was working as a chef at the beginning of 2020, and like many others, I was affected by the initial shut down of the hospitality industry,” Dan Esfahani says.
“The lockdown gave rise to supermarket panic buying, which included a temporary shortage of pasta. It was then that I thought to create a Sydney-wide fresh pasta home delivery service.
“I really wanted to give Sydneysiders a restaurant-quality experience at home – something that everyone was longing for at the time. I love the idea of home deliveries as a convenient and empowering alternative to a restaurant-style setting.
“The pandemic provided the springboard to delve into a space in Italian cuisine that I deeply admire and have always strived to work in.”
Dan’s Pasta offers a weekly home delivery service Sydney wide, with a choice of 12 kinds of handmade pasta and seven different sauces and oils.
The menu includes roasted pumpkin and sage ravioli, beetroot or spinach pappardelle, classic spaghetti, fettuccine and lasagne sheets. Pasta comes in single-serve sizes, and the sauce has enough for two-three serves.
“Our pasta is made on the morning of delivery (kicking off at 4.30am), which ensures the pasta is 100 per cent fresh when it hits the boiling water that night,” he says.
“You can really taste the difference.”
Dan reveals the biggest seller is the ‘pasta pack’, containing four portions of pasta and two sauces, allowing customers to try various textures and flavours in one sitting.
Dan says he realised he was onto a good thing when on of their customers ordered twice in one week.
“We were only delivering two days a week at that stage, and so it was really humbling to realise how much they had enjoyed our product,” he says.
“Another moment that stuck out was when a customer was so thrilled with the pasta that they said ‘I’ll never go back to packet pasta again’.”
Dan’s Pasta has also caught the attention of other artisan producers, which has led to collaborations with Vic’s Meat (a weekly Wagyu Meat Lasagne) and Pepe Saya Butter (a hand-rolled butter log). Also available at Crown Street Grocer in Surry Hills.
Chebbo’s Burgers
Proving that there are still some knockouts to be had on the hamburger scene, Punchbowl local, Ali Chebbani’s has taken Chebbo’s Burgers to TikTok to prove it.
His smash burgers became a smash hit. This specific style of burger is, as the name implies, “smashed” on a hot grill, flattened with a spatula, bacon press, (or even Chebbo’s very own Burger Smasher) and seared for 30 seconds before flipping.
Chebbo’s started as an occasional pop-up in 2019 while Ali was studying. It was so successful, he opened a permanent food truck in Roselands in 2020.
When Covid-19 hit, that’s when Chebbo’s really took off, thanks to social media. Sharing recipes and instructional videos on TikTok, he went from a few hundred followers to 640,000 followers, while Ali’s “Perfect Burger” Tutorial on YouTube has received more than 18,000 views.
“As soon as cases began to really concentrate in the south west Sydney region, I had a feeling that we may have to end up closing up entirely in the best interest of the public, to which we did a week before lockdowns got serious,” Ali says.
“While we are still legally allowed to trade, and last year we worked through the entire outbreak — the high amount of case numbers was a great concern for the safety and wellbeing of the team and all our customers.
“I had initially planned to roll out the Chebbo’s Burger Kits last year, before (this current lockdown), the kits were just a concept in my head.
“DIY Burger kits have the exact same ingredients we use at the truck, from our buns, patties, secret Chebbo’s sauce and cheese, this kit is the hassle-free convenient solution to give you your Chebbo’s fix at home.”
There are three versions: Classic, Cheeseburger, and Fried Onion burger with plans for a halloumi burger and eventually a rotating roster of other burgers.
At the start of lockdown, they were just doing “Chewsday” (Tuesday delivery, but in the past week, they’ve added Saturday plus have extended their deliveries (mainly made by his immediate family and friends) to Sydney metro and western suburbs.
Follow Chebbo’s Burgers on social media channels for weekly updates — and more videos.
— 85 Chapel St, Roselands (local pick-up); chebbos.com
Sticky Candy Artists
When was the last time you went to The Rocks? Exactly. So, imagine David King’s plight when his entire candy-making business, one that was based mainly on the tourism trade that passed through the cobbled laneways, went from bustling to bust overnight.
After a bit of soul searching and channelling his inner-Wonka, he captured the theatrics of candy-making and began live-streaming the process on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
He had a positive reaction; he added TikTok and created more short-form videos.
Sticky’s reach has stretched far beyond Sydney now, thanks to the sweet growth in the number of followers on his social media channels: Facebook went from 90,000 to one million; Instagram started with 15,000 and is now over 165,000; YouTube went from 1500 to 370,000, and as for TikTok, it went from zero to 4.4 million in 12 months flat.
Even though the shop is closed, online sales have exploded, most of which come from overseas, compared to earlier when sales were pretty much just from foot traffic in The Rocks.
His weekly specials often sell out within 30 minutes, plus he’s tripled his workforce and is even working towards opening a second production facility to keep up with demand.
From good fortune and good business, Sticky has also raised money ($65,000 to date) for various charities, including RUOK?, Movember and Starlight Children’s Foundation.
Kepos Street Kitchen
Michael Rantissis describes the set up of Kepos Street Kitchen, it’s “to fit the moment”.
Last year, the award-winning chef shifted his restaurant business to focus on a deli, takeaway Modern-Israeli breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal packs, as well as pantry staples from small local businesses.
He and the kitchen team stocked the deli and the newly-purchased industrial fridge with tubs of Kepos’ favourites — freshly-made tubs of dips, meze, pita and sweets.
It’s modern Middle Eastern with a Mediterranean twist.
This year, he’s gone a step further, inviting popular local producers including Crumpets by Merna and Brooklyn Boy Bagels to sell their products from the Redfern location.
“Kepos has always been a destination,” Michael says.
Not only has the deli been a lifeline for some of the smaller entities, but it’s also been a saving grace of the business, with 70 per cent of total revenue coming from these products.
They have had to introduce more items to the deli to keep up with demand, now selling 65 fresh items, including ice cream and dips and, of course, Michael’s famous hummus, tzatziki, sausages, dinner-packs, falafels and more.
You can also pick up one of his personal favourites, the cauliflower salad. It’s the perfect combination of spice, sweetness, salt and acidity but to Michael, one of the very first things he thinks about for that dish is related to texture; in this case; “Nuts. Lots of nuts. In this one, there are pistachios plus the pop of the cranberries”, he says.
His signature cauliflower salad also features prominently in the Kepos classic dinner pack, which includes the coriander-crusted slow-roasted lamb shoulder, the cauliflower salad, a large container of hummus and four pita pockets. ($84, serves two-four people).
It’s available to pick up Wednesdays-Saturdays or can be delivered to select Sydney metro suburbs on selected days for $20-$25.
While some people consider removing the lid of a takeaway container to be the limits of their cooking skills, there’s also home-cook friendly options such as beef or vegetarian moussaka, which just needs a tick of time in the oven.
Order online for pre-order pick-up and delivery, or stop by to check out their deli selection, produce and take-home meals. Open daily, 8am-3pm.
— 96 Kepos St, Redfern; keposstreetkitchen.com.au
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