Times are tough in cafe land, but these new inner-west venues are up for the challenge

The cafe scene in Sydney’s inner west is persevering in the face of mounting financial challenges, welcoming several notable new additions over the summer.

When beloved Annandale cafe Cornersmith announced its imminent closure this week, co-owner Alex Elliot-Howery said the cost-of-living crisis made their small, family-run business financially untenable.

The news followed a 2023 Reuters report predicting cafes would be among the first casualties of inflation.

“It’s honestly tough at the moment,” says Kenneth Rodrigueza, co-owner of Marrickville doughnut shop Donut Papi.

“I think we’re in the deep end of it, and we’re going to see more cafes closing down over the coming days and months – and we’re no exception.”

The soaring price of ingredients, coupled with a slowdown in consumer spending, forced Rodrigueza and business partner Chris Palamara to close their coeliac-friendly cafe Gluten-Free Friends in mid-January.

But within a month, they’d soft launched another venue in its place: Tita’s Carinderia, a nostalgic Filipino cafe with house-baked pandesal (traditional buttery breakfast rolls).

Rodriguez says Tita’s is a more sustainable business model at a time when gluten-free ingredients have risen to almost five times the price of their standard alternatives.

“We decided to replace Gluten-Free Friends as the cost of ingredients are getting higher and higher for pretty much everything,” he says.

“It was busy and we still believe our concept is one of a kind, but I think it was bad timing. We’d [consider reopening] once everything eases up.”

Tita’s joins a wave of small-scale cafes opening across the inner west. There’s Pelican, serving coffee and breakfast hot dogs opposite Steel Park in Marrickville; Goldie’s, a peachy brunch spot opening in Dulwich Hill on Thursday, February 22; Agnes, a cosy cafe from the team behind West Juliett (with delicious housemade focaccias by former Flour & Stone baker Etta Napier); and Ol’ Mates, a stylish sandwich shop and espresso bar set to open Tuesday, February 20 on the banks of the Cooks River in Earlwood.

The details of Cornersmith’s closure may have been, in the words of Hurlstone Park cafe owner Karl Setter (HP Source), “a grim and accurate account of the reality of running a cafe in Sydney”. But it also serves as a reminder to support your local, lest it disappear.

Three new inner west cafes to check out this month

Tita’s Carinderia, Marrickville

This small, neighbourhood cafe is an ode to Tita Marlene, the late aunty of co-owners Kenneth Rodrigueza and Chris Palamara (Donut Papi). “She was the best cook I’ve [ever] known,” says Rodrigueza, who recreated her pork adobo for the menu (served with pickled green papaya and fried egg on garlic fried rice). There’s also breakfast sandwiches made with freshly baked pandesal buns; longsilog (spiced sausage); and Tita’s torta available for breakfast and lunch, served with tortang talong (eggplant omelette) and banana ketchup. Save room for dessert because there’s some truly hard-to-find dishes such as bibingka (rice cake) basque cheesecake. Commuters to the nearby train station can grab-and-go a Manila latte (iced vanilla lattes with condensed milk), ube soft serve, or pandan madeleines.

Shop 4, 359 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, instagram.com/tita.carinderia

Pantry Story, Stanmore

When was the last time you saw people lining up to enter a cafe on Parramatta Road? On Sunday mornings pastry enthusiasts crowd into this small bakery-cafe hybrid, where husband-and-wife team Hari Wibowo and Mutiara Putri Sucipto combine modern baking techniques with the comforting, homemade desserts they grew up with. There’s “kimcheese” (kimchi and cheese) focaccia, pandan custard buns and honey butter croissants on the line-up of pastries, each artfully displayed on a round table in the centre of the cafe. “We wanted to portray a big family sitting down [around] a table, where each member has their own favourite dessert,” says Sucipto. “We want people to feel excited as they walk in and discover a flavour they recognise.” It’s the first brick-and-mortar cafe for the pair, who first launched the Pantry Story concept as an online bakery in 2020.

336 Parramatta Road, Stanmore, instagram.com/pantrystory_sydney

Algorithm, Marrickville

With its modern brutalist design, creative selection of iced beverages and keen focus on cross-business collaboration, Algorithm is unlike anything else on bustling Marrickville Road. Husband-and-wife team, chef Baby Angelina Kartiko and coffee enthusiast Beryl Leomongga, have created a strong menu inspired by their Indonesian background. Try their signature iced coffee with condensed milk, their affogato with a scoop of seasonal Mapo gelato, or opt for a simple iced matcha (perhaps one of the best in the inner west). After something more substantial? There’s roast spam and folded egg on sourdough English muffins, or the signature chicken sandwich, with poached chicken, chilli aioli, smashed avo, cucumber and provolone. Yum.

109 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, instagram.com/algorithmsydney