Just a few of weeks ago one of the biggest party’s of the year was scheduled to go down in Manly; Belgrave Cartel would have been celebrating 10 years in business in the fine and friendly style that’s made them a hometown staple for locals and day/night trippers to Manly. The barstools at Belgrave are one of my favourite spots to be early evening on a Sunday, sipping on 10year old Flor de Caña after an honest serving of pasta.

With the upheaval in the cafe/bar industry, celebrations have been put on hold, but the Cartel boys are still ready to serve you.

I caught up with Mick, one of the Bruzzese, Brothers to see how things were…

Support Local - See the Belgrave Menu Online and Order by phone - 9976 6548

MF - Tell us about Belgrave Cartel, how long have you guys been around and how did it come to be?
MB - We’ve been here for ten years - a long time in hospitality. We were bit of an antithesis to Manly’s coffee culture at the time in that we were a bit haphazard, a bit underground. I mean, we had no money really, but managed to scrape together $10k between the three of us. We got a second hand espresso machine, a whole bunch chairs and tables from Vinnies, some milk crates for seats out the front, a Breville jaffle iron, and threw open the doors. It worked crazily. Luckily rent was dirt cheap then.

Tell us about your customers and how do you serve them?
We’ve been lucky to have a regular customer base, some who come twice if not three times a day. That says a lot. Most have been coming since day one and we consider them family.

What’s the one product at Belgrave Cartel that generates the most conversation with your customers? Tell us a little about it.
Probably our coffee - rich, dark and strong. It’s our own blend that we crafted with the help the coffee company we’ve been with since we opened. My message to those reading this is to come and try it for yourself!  The other conversation starters are the breakfast menu items named after the brothers. There’s a lot named after or inspired by our mum as she’s a pretty amazing cook. The Italian cookbooks in our family have been passed down through the generations, literally.

How are you continuing to serve your customers while we’re all in shutdown? What’s been resonating with customers so far?
In any way that we can!
We had to do a massive pivot and pushed out a take away and delivery menu literally overnight. It’s made up of the bestsellers, the ones which have some soul to them and are super tasty. Things like Mumma’s Lasagna, our famous Ragu in Bianco, and Polpette (meatballs) in red sauce. I mean, what’s better than a plate of pasta and a glass of vino at home at times like this?? (and by that I mean call us - 9976 6548 :))

With everything going on it feels like we're in uncertain and unprecedented times, what are positives do you think we can emerge with?
We have been humbled by the support we’ve received. The one positive is that we’ve truly seen just how generous the Manly community is. Channel 10 even did a news story on it last night - locals supporting locals and people going above and beyond to keep visiting and spending money locally to keep the small business community afloat. We personally are truly appreciative and are giving to others who are in the same position as best we can. If you don’t have community, you don’t really have anything I reckon, but yeah, we’ve seen a lot of love from the Manly and Northern Beaches community.

Take Away Coffee Available at Belgrave and Mini Belgrave (Beach front)
Take Away Food Available - Menu Here and order by phone on  9976 6548
Join in the conversation, be a part of the community on our @belgrave_cartel