John and George El-Khoury turn Pascoe Vale home into Emil’s Cafe

A new addition to Pascoe Vale’s thriving cafe scene could well be the most original offering yet. See the details here.

John and George El-Khoury are launching Emil's Cafe named after their dad (centre) in their childhood home in Pascoe Vale. Picture: Adam Daunt

Two Pascoe Vale brothers are inviting people to take a trip down memory lane — the brothers’ memory lane that is — by turning their childhood home into an all-day cafe.

For decades the corner block at 349 Reynard St was familiar to locals as Emil and Houda El-Khoury’s milk bar, where they just happened to raise six children in a two-bedroom flat out the back

Standing outside in the courtyard, where customers will soon sip flat whites and enjoy all-day brunch, brothers John and George remember the fierce games of cricket and basketball.

The cafe’s new kitchen, outfitted with commercial machines, used to house four of the six children’s bedrooms.

Render of the proposed design for Emil's Cafe. Picture: Supplied

The transformation, which features some old decal from the house, has brought the memories flooding back for the two brothers.

“When you come back, you see all the memories, every wall, every bit of chalk, it all just brings back memories,” John said.

George added: “We were all born here, we’ve cracked our heads, fallen and done everything here … there’s a lot of memories here and when we remove the plaster from the walls you see little marks you put there 30 years ago.

“You’re in the kitchen now, doing trials for the food but you’re thinking of your memories with your siblings because it is your childhood bedroom, it’s a different feeling.”

John, Emil and George El-Khoury in front of Emil's Cafe in Pascoe Vale. Picture: Adam Daunt

In honour of the their childhood home, the brothers have decided each dining room will be named after its original purpose — customers can have coffee in “Mum and Dad’s room” or eat in the “Living Room” with a modern Australian menu touched by Arabic influence and using local suppliers.

The process has been an emotional time for the family.

“It’s very emotional for them (our parents); the first time they walked through was very difficult with all the changes, they got teary,” George said.

“So we’ll bring the place back alive and hope we can keep it going and keep building those memories.”

Renowned chef Sam Pinzone is consulting on the menu as the brothers prepare to launch the cafe in June.

“We always had this dream to bring our family home back to life and now it is going to become our business and hopefully a home for the community,” George said.

“It’ll be family recipes, family flavours from over the years.

“It’s been our dream to bring the community together in here and it’s finally happening.”