Fawkner Canteen at Fawkner Park shut down by City of Melbourne Council

It was a hit with dog walkers and families, but Melbourne City Council has banned a popular cafe from operating.

Fawkner Canteen owner Mehmet outside the business in Fawkner Park, which has been forced to close.

A popular cafe at Fawkner Park has been shut down by the Melbourne City Council for operating illegally.

But the community has slammed the decision, questioning why council red tape has stopped the operation of the popular coffee spot, which they say is much needed in the park.

The Fawkner Canteen opened at the Northern Pavilion on January 24, and quickly became a hit with dog walkers and other park visitors.

But the council said the Pavilion was owned by the City of Melbourne, and approval was not sought for the cafe’s operation. The council also doesn’t support any commercial uses of the pavilions within the park.

Canteen operators Mehmet Arif and Michelle Sreepai got a knock on their door last Thursday, February 9, with two City of Melbourne council representatives and two park rangers telling them they didn’t have a permit to be operating and needed to shut up shop and close within 10 minutes.

It was a huge shock to the couple, who had sought permission from the Melbourne Softball Association, which holds the lease for the pavilion, receiving verbal assurances from them all the right permits were in place.

Mr Arif asked the council officers why they were being closed down, and was told the permit for Melbourne Softball Association only allowed them to operate on match days and training days – which was only from 5.30pm-8pm three nights a week.

“Which is not cafe hours – we’ve been operating like a normal cafe, from 7.30am to 4 or 5pm,” he said.

Fans of the cafe took to Instagram to express their disappointment over the cafe closure.

“So sad,” Josh Tan posted. “Hope you guys are able to operate soon. It’s such a nice place for us parents to enjoy a good coffee and let our daughter roam freely in a safe zone.”

“I’m so sorry to hear this- you are such a valued part of our community,” Sir Franklin the Frenchie wrote.

“Such awful news. Hopefully there is something we, as a community, can do to voice our opinion. It’s been such a joy having you in the park,” Tahnmk wrote.

The couple faces an uphill and complicated battle to reopen in the park.

The council said the City of Melbourne’s Fawkner Park Master Plan guides the management and future development of the park and recommends sporting clubs be permitted to trade from the pavilions during use for sport, but does not support commercial uses.

Any proposal to change the use of the pavilions would require a transparent, open leasing and licensing process.

The council said Fawkner Park was also listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Any modifications to existing buildings, including the Northern Pavilion, to support a cafe would require Heritage Victoria approval.

Melbourne Softball Association spokesperon Elaine Duyvestyn said the club had asked the council if it could operate its volunteer-run canteen outside of its regular match and training matches as well.

“There is no issue – we’ve got the permit to open on our match and training days but we’re asking if there is a way we can extend it past that,” she said.

Despite the hurdles, Mr Arif said he would try and convince the council to change the Fawkner Park Master Plan to allow cafes to operate in the park.

“We want to shine a light on changing these laws,” he said.

“The response we got from the first two and a half weeks was absolutely incredible, that’s why we are pushing for the changes,” he said.

“People would come in and say they had been dying for something like this in the park for a long time.”

The couple had already established a “wall of barkers” – featuring 130 Polaroid photos of dogs that visited. Each pooch that posed for a photo received a free puppaccino.

“We did not anticipate we would be so busy or get the community response we did,” Mr Arif said.

“We are locals ourselves and know there is a special community in the park, especially with dog walkers.

“It’s an uphill battle but in the long term we would love to (reopen in the park).

“But from a practical standpoint things like this don’t change overnight.

“We’ve been telling everyone we will relocate nearby and keep trying to push through (changes to the Master Plan) with council.”