A long friendship has turned into a business partnership, with Mt Victoria local Paul Beavis and Rob Moody, from Blaxland, together opening The Daily Grind cafe in Leura.
The pair first met in 2004, when Mr Moody was an apprentice under head chef Mr Beavis at Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens restaurant.
They both then moved to Echoes restaurant, at the time run by Robbie Stapleton and mentioned in the SMH’s Good Food Guide.
A stint at Solitary restaurant followed before Mr Beavis bought the Wattle Cafe in Blackheath.
He ran that for almost 10 years until he decided he needed a change.
He sold it a year ago and was considering future plans when Mr Moody told him about the Leura shop, under Chapmans real estate, which formerly housed the Zest cafe.
Their menus reflect “hearty, honest simple food that’s good value”, Mr Beavis said.
As well as breakfast (8am-11.30am) and lunch (until 4pm) seven days a week, on Fridays and Saturdays they also open from 4.30pm with a bar menu (think pesto and parmesan bread, dips, Turkish bread with olive oil and balsamic).
Then on the Friday and Saturday, they offer $25 specials – a pasta dish with wine, or a burger with beer (or vice versa).
The Daily Grind has been open for just two months but already the response from locals has been positive, Mr Moody said.
