After years of planning, new cafe Florabel opened its doors the to the public two weeks ago, on the site of the old bakery on Imlay Street, and it has been flat out ever since.
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Since taking possession of the building in 2017, owner Sheri McEvoy has slowly and carefully been working towards a vision to open a business that, when completed, will include quality, sustainable fashion.
The bulk of the building is still under construction but is expected to be fully open mid-year. For now, the cafe offers healthy modern and traditional cuisine in a relaxed environment at a reasonable cost, with plans to obtain a liquor licence, offer high teas and develop space for fashion manufacturing and a small museum.
The name Florabel belonged to Sheri McEvoy's mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
"The name is passed down through a line of creative women who cooked, painted, designed and sewed with unique talent," Sheri said.
"They all, like many women, gave up brilliant careers to care for their children and families, so no-one would have heard of them."
Honouring the artistry of her foremothers, Sheri said the Florabel label will ultimately extend from cuisine to fashion and homewares over time.
"Their stories now reflect the experience of women in the Pacific and Australia, an environment that moulded their lives from the time their people came here," Sheri said.
Until the recent opening, there was an element of mystery to the shopfront, with covered windows and doors inspiring talk about town as to what may have been in the pipeline.
Question marks appeared in the windows in 2017, which Sheri said was intended "to keep the energy up" as she was aware people were worried at that point that shops were closing around town.
"The new wharf wasn't built, the Australasia was all boarded up, people in Eden had been through a lot over time, I didn't want them to lose hope," Sheri said.
The COVID shut down in 2020 saw a dress made of toilet paper rolls appear in one of the windows.
Sheri and her daughter stumbled across Eden on an impromptu family roadtrip and having been brought up on the coastline, the women liked the fishing community and felt a resonance with the town. They were ready for a change.
"It is very like South Head was 60 years ago," Sheri said.
Seventy-three-year-old Sheri and her husband were brought up in Sydney and raised their children in the Brindabellas and also own a vineyard at Adelong, which it is hoped will produce wine for Florabel.
Sheri said the high teahouse will complete the first stage of Florabel, and honour her grandmother, Florabel Williams, who was the chef at the elegant Metropole Hotel in Sydney in the 1930s.
"In her role, she pioneered the practice of walking the dining room there to inquire whether the customers were happy or enjoyed the cuisine," she said.
Her mother, Florabel Harrison, was a great fashion designer, acting fashion editor of the Bulletin in Sydney in 1937.
"She should have been as famous as Chanel, but she chose to look after kids and the family," Sheri said.
"The women in my family spent their time together in elegant sewing parlours, or making fabric on looms and spinning wheels. The rhythm and chat is therapeutic, a wonderful thing."
The new cafe has employed 12 casual staff since opening and Sheri is currently looking for a barista/supervisor, and down the track machinists for fashion manufacturing. Sheri can be contacted via email: admin@florabel.com.au.
Bookings are recommended for the cafe located at 195 Imlay Street by calling: 0439511544.
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Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
