Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre: Yummy’s Cafe shuts after 30 years

A Mulgrave cafe famous for its $1 cheeseburgers and potato cakes has shut its doors, but a Glen Waverley favourite could be making a comeback.

Yummy’s Cafe at Waverley Gardens appears to have shut.

A popular Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre cafe has shut its doors, after more than 30 years at the Mulgrave centre.

Advertising signage has been placed around the closed Yummy’s Cafe, announcing: “Change grows here – we’re working on something new and exciting”.

The cafe is listed as permanently closed on Google, its listing has been removed from the Waverley Gardens website, and its phone number has been disconnected.

The cafe has been based at the centre since Waverley Gardens opened.

It follows the closure of Target at the centre, which shut on April 10.

Locals say the cafe was known for decades as having the centre’s best take away food including fresh potato cakes and sandwiches.

Others remembered having soft serves, banana splits, spiders, hot chips and $1 cheeseburgers at the cafe.

People took to the Monash Leader Facebook page to share their memories of Yummy’s.

“Yes I always had my coffee there with the original people that worked there, a very sad day,”

Win Moog said.

“But then the whole shopping centre is falling apart no Target after about 40 years a disgrace.”

“Best freshly made egg and bacon sangas around,” Lisa Whittaker said

Yummy's at Waverley Gardens.

“I remember asking for a glass of water nearing closing time back in the 90s knowing you would guarantee a free feed of the leftover potato cakes and hot chips,” Alex Blane Layder said.

A new Super Fresh precinct is set to open at Waverley Gardens in October.

Located in the east wing, Super Fresh will become one of the largest fresh fruit and vegetable precincts in Melbourne’s southeast, with the introduction of new stores including Henrys Mercato and Indian and Asian grocers.

Meanwhile the Pancake Parlour at Century City Walk in Glen Waverley also remains closed months after lockdown ended.

But there could be good news in store for loyal customers, with management trying to reopen the store.

Monash Leader reported in February the restaurant, which operated for more than a decade, had been shut for several months since the stage 4 coronavirus lockdown.

When Leader visited on Thursday, the restaurant was still closed.

A sign on the door reads: “Sorry we’re closed for now. Due to new government restrictions, we’re unfortunately had to close our restaurant indefinitely.”

The Pancake Parlour website still lists the Glen Waverley and Docklands restaurants as

“temporarily closed”.

Pancake Parlour managing director Mandy David said The Pancake Parlour was a family-owned business and like many Victorian businesses suffered greatly through a tough and extended lockdown.

“While we are grateful for the support of our lovely loyal customers and the people of Victoria for supporting us over the past six months, like many – we are not out of the woods yet,” Ms David said.

“We are progressing on recruiting and training Victorians to boost our team numbers to pre-COVID levels as we begin to recover and are working with the landlord at Glen Waverley to try to re-open as soon as we are in a position to do so.”

Leader attempted to contact the owners of Yummy’s.