99 Acland St: Previous home to Scheherazade Restaurant Coffee Lounge is for sale
Once home to a cafe that served as a haven for Holocaust refugees, this building in the heart of Acland St has a history as rich as the cakes it once sold.
Inner South
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A building that once served as as a safe meeting place for thousands of Melbourne’s Holocaust survivors is on the market for the first time in 45 years.
For years, 99 Acland St, which was once home to the popular coffee spot Scheherazade Restaurant Coffee Lounge — started by Avram and Masha Zeleznikow in 1958 — served up eastern European Jewish comfort foods and desserts, all from traditional family recipes.
Open for 50 years, the building, the business and the people who occupied it were an inspiration for a book, written by Arnold Zable, in 2001, immortalising the spirit and comfort Cafe Scheherazade exuded.
Mr Zable told Leader the restaurant was “more than just a popular eatery”.
“It really was a place for young, single men to come and have a home cooked meals, and to talk,” Mr Zable said.
“I knew the owners since I was a child. They were among my mentors.”
Mr Zable at first decided to write an article about the cafe, on its 35th birthday in 1993, but knew the story was destined for more.
“I’d been there many times, but when I left the cafe on that winter night, I knew I had more than just a piece for the paper,” he said.
“The cafe is named after a storyteller, who told stories to save a life. Inside the cafe were men who could tell stories that span the length of the 20th century, and make the hairs go up on the back of your neck.”
The building, which has been a tenanted investment since 1999, after the Zeleznikow’s retired, is listed by Fitzroys Real Estate Melbourne.
Agent Chris Kombi, said interest in the property has been strong, despite only being listed for just over a week.
“We are seeing a rebirth of the area, and this property is in among those up and coming investments,’’ he said,
The building is up for auction — with an asking price of $1.7m — and will be held on June 17.
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