A different kind of sausage sizzle is bringing new life to a sleepy western suburbs high street

What was an empty lot on Spotswood’s sleepy high street now buzzes on Saturday mornings with queues of people following their nose to chargrilled Balkan sausages, served from a tiny window under red and white awning.

Stan’s Grill opened in mid-October specialising in cevapi – skinless sausages similar to kofte – served in flatbread. Owners Stash Kwas and Steph Angelevska took a trip to Macedonia and northern Greece in 2018 to visit the villages their families came from and ate at several street stalls grilling cevapi and other meat, a local fixture throughout Balkan countries such as Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia.

“We say it’s like the equivalent of Balkan sausage sizzle,” says Kwas.

Fast-forward five years and the pair have quit their corporate jobs, opened a Macedonian pastry shop called Maznik in 2022 and then saw an opening, literally, in the courtyard of Maznik, where they’ve now parked a two-metre by two-metre trailer that’s lighting up the street with its bold red and white paintwork.

“Our passion is to bring this food, which I’ve grown up with ... to Melbourne. We want people to try it and smell it and have that immersive experience that I’m so familiar with,” says Angelevska.

A chargrill is at the heart of the takeaway operation, adding smoky flavour to the pork-and-beef sausages, patties known as pljeskavica, and fluffy pita-style bread called lepinja that’s briefly charred.

Stan’s menu is highly focused, with just three sandwiches and three burgers. The former is anchored by cevapi sausage served with pickled cabbage and fresh white onion, the latter by house-made beef patties spiced with paprika and listed as “stash” patties because of the provolone cheese stashed inside.

Three different sauces give each item its own identity. There’s tomato sauce and mustard, a mild ajvar (Macedonian capsicum relish), and a hotter version featuring “chaos sauce”: paprika and chilli flakes mixed with feta and sour cream for balance.

Second- and third-generation Australians whose families emigrated from the region are flocking to the trailer, along with others who have tried cevapi on their travels.

The cevapi and all the sauces, including the ajvar, are made in-house. A plant-based burger is also available.

Future plans include more styles of cevapi and platters of different grilled meats. For now, Kwas and Angelevska have got their hands full keeping up with those queues.

Open Thu-Sat 11am-7.30pm

83 Hudsons Road, Spotswood, stansgrill.com.au