Raj Acharya and his two-year-old son Aahansh, Raj’s wife Sabita, Sunita Gurung nursing Aarshvi, Raj and Sabita’s one-month-old daughter and Rajan Gurung and his two-year-old son Rhys, outside the Pavilion Cafe in Clifford Street Goulburn. The owners of Lush Cafe have bought the Pavilion and will open on 9 December under the Bluebird Cafe and Bar. Photo: John Thistleton.
Enterprising owners of Lush Cafe and Bar in Goulburn have bought the Pavilion Cafe and will begin next month running it as the Bluebird Cafe and Bar.
The Pavilion opened in November last year, on the site of the former Greengrocer Cafe and Cyclery in Clifford Street which had gone into voluntary liquidation following the tragic death of owner Con Toparis.
The Pavilion’s new owners, Rajan Gurung and Raj Acharya met in the kitchen of the Paragon Cafe in Goulburn about three years ago, formed a business partnership centred on their extraordinary work ethic and are about to begin their third dining venture.
Raj was a kitchen hand, Rajan a barista. They came to Australia 15 years ago on student visas to learn the hospitality industry. In their first foray into cafes at Olive Grove on the Federal Highway near Collector, they were told they had no idea how to run a business. That lit a fire under their will to succeed.
“We want to show them that we can do anything,” Rajan said. They each speak three languages and showed their agility in a tight timeframe in June last year, opening the former Forked restaurant as Lush Cafe and Bar.
Raj says at the bigger Bluebird Cafe they will focus more on breakfast and lunch. Having worked 13- to 15-hour days establishing Lush and forsaking family time, they now plan to see more of their children.
“We have a family now, kids,” Raj said. “We need to give some time to them. In the evening we can stay home,” he said. He and his wife Sabita, have a two-year-old son Aahansh and a one-month-old daughter Aarshvi. Rajan and his wife Sunita, have a two-year-old son Rhys. (The boys were born one week apart).
They will open only three nights at the Bluebird Cafe and Bar – Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, 7:30 am to 8:30 pm – and will close at 4 pm for the remainder of the week.
They will add pasta and pizza to their present menu and operate with a liquor licence. “They have a wood-fired pizza there,” said Raj, a sparkle in his eye as he contemplated a magic sauce, other than tomato sauce for his pizza creations.
Longer term they plan to develop the dining options and install a new bar.
Experimenting also marked the cafe owners’ early months at Lush, where they discovered people had no appetite for a 7 am breakfast down the street. So they stepped back to opening at 9 am and reduced the number of days of trading.
Now they have a steady group of regular customers and their breakfast trading over the weekend has become a mainstay, along with lunches and dinner.
Raj’s bacon and egg rolls are second only to his omelettes, and while he says the omelettes have a special ingredient, he won’t reveal exactly what it is. Rajan says love goes into every omelette, and the same magic ingredients will be poured into their pasta and pizza offerings at the new Bluebird Cafe.
“We have so many regular customers and I have been telling them we are opening the new cafe and moving to the new place and they are all happy for us and want to support us there too,” Rajan said. “Older people, retirees come every week, pretty much twice a week. If they can’t come, I don’t know why they feel bad but they let us know and say, ‘but I will come twice next week,’” Rajan said. “They support us like that; it is really nice of them,” he said.
Lush opened on Christmas Day, with turkey and lobster on the menu and they already have 90 bookings for Christmas Day this year, even though they are asking for a deposit. (The decision to ask for a deposit followed 20 people not turning up last year.)
Two Nepalese chefs from Canberra and Goulburn have bought Lush Cafe.
Goulburn’s Nepalese community is growing, and much like the Greeks from generations past, are moving into the hospitality sector.
Raj said they were adept at the hospitality industry. “There are no dramas, only hard work,” he said.
The Pavilion Cafe, soon to be the Bluebird Cafe and Bar, is located at 37/41 Clifford St, Goulburn.
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