A cafe serving “bloody good” coffee and homemade food has opened at the former site of Yelo in Perth’s inner north.
Residents welcomed So.le to Beaufort Street in Inglewood last week.
Owner Martha Camilleri said she hoped to “keep things simple” with coffee and takeaway food for busy residents on the go, including toasties, overnight oats, and yogurt.
She has taken a truly hands-on approach, baking much of the food at her apartment down the road in Mt Lawley.
“Most things I bake at home myself; my apartment is a mess at the moment” she said.
The cafe is operating out of a sea container on the former site of Yelo.
Ms Camilleri said she jumped at the opportunity to lease it and opened the doors this month.
“It was just a matter of finding the right coffee and suppliers … and some paint,” she said.
The cafe sources its beans from Little Owl Coffe Roasters in Myaree.
Ms Camilleri said inspiration for the name came from the Italian word Sole, meaning sun.
“I want to bring brightness into my customers’ days,” she said.
“I want to create a hub, to be part of peoples’ routines, to create community.”
It comes after Yelo vacated the parklet site a year after opening in December 2021.
Owner Mike Pond cited a “difficult time” over the pandemic period and staffing issues.
“It was just a bit much; the Inglewood one we opened during COVID, it was just very stop-start,” he said.
“It was a great little venue; we were busy, but we just wanted to make the decision to do two (venues) really well.”
Yelo once had five cafes across Perth: Inglewood, Trigg, North Beach, Cottesloe and Mt Hawthorn.
But Mr Pond said three venues had closed in recent times to focus on the Mt Hawthorn cafe and the North Beach venue, which opened earlier this year.
The original Trigg venue was controversially bulldozed in August to make way for apartments.
So.le Cafe at Shop 5/846 Beaufort Street, Inglewood, opens 6.30am to 3.30pm Mondays to Fridays and 8am to noon Saturdays and Sundays.