Just Open: The Two Wolves, Chippendale

The rash of glam restaurant openings at The Old Clare has increased the buzz in already booming Chippendale, but the feel-good food story for Postcode 2008 in 2015 has to go to The Two Wolves.

The venue swings open its doors this week at 202 Broadway, the brainchild of a posse of high-profile hospitality operators.

Two Wolves' cantina is a social enterprise, youth training project with profits supporting a range of life-changing projects. Still not sold? How about a menu where dishes include Pope Francis' favourite recipe, his grandmother's empanadas.

Cafe operator Ben Sweeten and his fellow hospitality brethren have helped drive the project, an idea first hatched by Father David Braithwaite and backed by the Jesuits. "[Publican] Fraser Short got on board. Originally it was going to be a cafe but he said 'let's go cantina'. The menu is earthy-style street food Fraser hasn't just put his name to it, he's driven the project, used his staff and overseen the build.

Designer Michael Delany worked on the interior, even helping with the food concepts," Sweeten says.

With just a few senior operational staff on the payroll, Two Wolves is mostly staffed by volunteers.

"Eventually we'd really like to train young offenders and the long-term unemployed. But the volunteers help, the money raised goes to projects like an orphanage in Thailand. We'll open the doors this week for dinner only, with limited availability as we try and get the systems right," he says.