Kambah residents have long loved their cafe at the Carleton Street shops, with a young, creative couple recently giving it a new lease on life.
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Former nurse and disability support worker Bridget Meli and her partner, chef Jose Blanco, opened the revamped and renamed Cafe Blanco less than a month ago.
And the space lives up to the name, now light and bright with a menu that puts a Spanish spin on cafe favourites, a nod to Jose's home country, Columbia.
The Kambah couple, who have a seven-year-old son Leonardo, have used neutral tones in the cafe with lots of cane furniture, leather bench seats, wall hangings and plants.
"We're pretty savvy. We did a lot of bargain hunting," Bridget, 28, said.
Jose, 30, did a five-year apprenticeship in Columbia and after arriving in Canberra and updating his qualifications, worked in the kitchens of local restaurants such as Italian and Sons, Monster and Lambshed's as well as Three Mills Bakery.
"I've been in hospitality since I was a very young boy, maybe when I was 13 probably," Jose said.
Bridget said it is a dream come true to have their own cafe, looking for the perfect spot for two years.
"Since he set foot in his first kitchen, he knew he wanted to have his own place," she said.
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The menu includes chorizo and egg roll, oaxacan lamb taco, black bean stew and tuna escabeche.
The location was meant to be because the couple met eight years ago on the bus that stops outside the cafe - Jose getting on at the stop on one side of the cafe and Bridget getting on at the stop on the other side.
"Now, it turns out we own a cafe right in the middle," she said.
The couple has been hard at work making sure the existing customers keep coming while attracting new ones, especially younger families.
"And they've been coming," Bridget said.
Jose is on cloud nine. "The love and support from the community has been amazing," he said.
"I think that's the difference between being a chef and being an owner, seeing the faces and building that connection and relationship."
- Cafe Blanco in Carleton Street, Kambah is open Saturday and Sunday 8am to 2pm and Tuesday to Friday 7am to 2pm.
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