The pace of change in the Yarraville village in the past decade or so is likely to seem somewhat sedate when various properties take on new guises in coming months.
By talking to many Yarraville business folk, I have tried to verify the following – but it all must necessarily be taken as “street talk”.
If anyone knows more or can provide more concrete details, I will be appreciative!
1. The St Georges ballroom space (above) is to become, I am told, a cafe. The proprietors have ties, allegedly, with Picklebarrel in Williamstown and Pint Of Milk in Newport.
2. The Ballarat Street premises that housed the eatery called the Bank is being revamped, so I am told, as a bar that will serve some sort of Asian-fusion food.
3. The Ballarat Street shop that housed Trenta Cucina is to become, so several people informed me, a Mexican restaurant.
4. The Ballarat Street premises that formerly housed Ella Bache, opposite Feedback Cafe, is to become – so two sources informed me – some sort of “health food” cafe.
5.The Blarney Stone is in the process of being sold, with settlement due in days. Rumour has it the pub will close for about a month, with the new business going “country style”. Steak ‘n’ kidney pie and ploughman’s lunches, perhaps?
6. Not much information – or even scuttlebutt – could be had about the Anderson Street shop, next to the chemist, which was most recently home to a fingernail emporium. Two phrases I heard in conjunction with the property were “gelati” and “frozen yogurt”.
7. The Anderson Street shoe shop business has two weeks of its lease left to run. The proprietor told me she had no idea of what the incoming business will be, but another local told me she had heard it would definitely be a food business of some sort.
9. Finally – not food but … the Anderson Street panelbeater has closed after 35 years, with a fit-out underway that will see the premises home to studios for the purposes of “clinical pilates”, physiotherapy and “yoga/barra dance”.
consider the sauce 
Oh no, not the Blarney Stone! I don’t go there (except occasionally to watch footy), but so many people do – will there be anywhere unpretentious left for a pot of Carlton and footy on the big screen?
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I hear you, Jane! But IMO the pub could do with some sort of change. From what I heard, the new owners are local.
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Love it, can’t wait to see all these new places 🙂 Is it wrong to say I’m a little excited for a Mexican place to pop up? Trenta Cucina was a little on the shit side, so glad something new is taking its place
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Hi Rosie! Yes, could be good. More scuttlebutt: I was told the dude opening the Mexican place was looking upon La Tortilleria in Kensington as something of role model. That’s heartening – at least to the extent we know it won’t be a Taco Bill!
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Hurrah! At least it’ll be decent then! 🙂
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Hi Kenny
You are certainly a wealth of information! What do you think Yarraville needs, shop wise? I would prefer to have a vinyl record shop (and rare CDs) instead of yet another cafe. I miss the second hand CD shop!
Keep up the good work, much appreciated.
Dan
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Hi Dan and thank you! Good question! These sorts of changes are in most ways inevitable , I think. I don’t think the argument that locals need or want the likes of hardware stores holds up all that well these days. With nearby shopping centres and larger stores becoming the norm, local strips like this are turning to service businesses.
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I miss the record shop too, Dan! But yeah, I guess real-world shops now only provide things the internet can’t: coffee, food, haircuts, manicures. Still, I’m glad I moved from Yarraville to Footscray, where the streets are still full of shops full of things.
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I’m still kicking myself for not buying an 80’s-vintage punk album at that shop that Fred Negro did the cover art for (his typical crude, childish but hyper-detailed drawings) when I saw it in 2006. It cost all of $10 for used vinyl, though, and I knew nothing about the band. Whilst I knew who Fred was from reading the music freepaper, I reckoned I’d see it somewhere else when I had more money in my pocket. But like so many mystical record apparitions, never again…
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Not sad to see the fingernail place go – it was a serious blight on the streetscape.
Mexican would be great! And understand where Dan is coming from, it is lacking something. A decent wine shop/bar would be good. And more parking!!!
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I think the wine shop is pretty good!
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Does it have a bar now? And did they ever get a new fish?
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Nope – no bar, no replacement fish!
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Dawson’s Cellars has good wine too (and the fish and turtles were the old owners’: now it’s a chain shop I don’t expect there’ll ever be another fish). Barkley Johnson has good wine, and a bar, and good cheese to eat with your wine. Gotta disagree with you on the parking though: Yarraville Village has superb walking, cycling and PT access, it needs fewer cars, not more.
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The fingernail place moved across the road in the old Two Faces spec place. I stopped going to it as I didn’t like a few things about the service and atmosphere in general.
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Oh, I love hearing your street talk, thanks Kenny!
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A pleasure! It was fun talking to all the Yarraville folk. Walking into shops and saying: “I’ll have $5 worth of gossip please!”
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Walked past the “Bank” tonight. There was a sign on the door looking for staff. I think the restaurant will be called Tommy Tong if the email on the sign was set up for the business
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Hi, it seems all the above new ventures have come to fruition in just 3 months. Certainly a lot happening here in Yarraville. Let’s not forget the venues still here ! We’re turning 5 years old next month ! Gee, that went quickly. Cheers, Mike at DIG A PONY.
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It’s fascinating to see the change that has occurred over just 4 years. The replacements are now well and truly established and the change continues. Although still no movement at the former Jasmine Inn (Corner Ballarat and Anderson Streets).
Thanks for documenting this transformation Kenny!
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