Dining Gems to Discover in Petrie

A homely and relaxed cafe, and 1950s-style rock'n'roll-inspired diner — these are just two of the dining gems you'll find in Petrie.

AM — START YOUR DAY

Kadison and Lealta, Petrie

Jamie Thomas wants her customers to feel at home when they pop into her Petrie cafe for coffee or a bite to eat, because that's how she feels when she works there.

When she opened the business as a half florist shop, half cafe in 2014, the experienced florist was looking for a change of pace.

As the cafe side of the business took off, she scaled back her floristry and now works with another florist to stock the cafe with bouquets and take orders.

Jamie says she was brought up in her grandparents' convenience store and bakery, so understands food-based businesses, and has a passion for healthy cuisine.

The menu has options to satisfy the truckies, police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, young mums and gym junkies she counts among her regulars.

“Three-quarters of my customers are regulars so when they walk in, I know what they’re going to have,” she says.

Her breakfast stack is popular with bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, capsicum, feta, chorizo, shallots, spinach and cracked pepper, as well as the Buddha bowls which are packed with mixed salads.

You can also grab a jaffle, omelette or bacon, feta and mushroom bruschetta.

The cafe is named after Jamie 's two children, Kadison and Lealta.

It has a warm and calming colour scheme — mostly green and white — with inside and out seating.

“I don’t want to be a big commercial place. I want to be a boutique corner cafe that you drop in to, have something to eat,” Jamie says.

The cafe is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am-2.30pm and from 7.30am-noon on Saturday.

8/1 Dayboro Rd

Phone: 0431 454 413

AM/PM — TAKE YOUR PICK

Be Bop A Licious, Petrie

It's an era synonymous with big skirts, rock’n’roll and Hollywood glamour and for some reason it’s always fascinated Tracey Walker.

So, when she saw the chance to buy an American-style diner earlier this year, she jumped at it.

Tracey says people like the era's glamour and the fact that you could eat what you wanted without judgement was a simpler time. It's not just a hit with people remembering those days, but younger customers too.

“People like to get away from the hustle and bustle of the life we lead now,” she says.

They can do that when they walk through the doors of her diner.

There’s seven burgers on the menu, including the Buddy Holly, Marilyn Munroe, Grace Kelly, Cry Baby Walker, Elvis Presley, The Big Bopper and James Dean.

Wash your burger down with a soda, milkshake, thickshake, spider, root beer float, or coffee, and top it off the with a scoop of your favourite ice cream.

Tracey describes her shakes as “old school” and her customers say drinking one takes them back …

“It’s like the DeLorean has transported them back to a simpler time,” she says, making reference to the time-travelling car from the Back to the Future films.

Tracey was born in 1977 and jokes that Elvis left in August, so she could arrive in October the same year.

She says she has always felt connected to that era and its romance.

The cafe has a pink, red and black and white colour scheme. It’s decorated with memorabilia from the era including Betty Boop, a jukebox, vinyl records as table settings and nods to Elvis, The Beatles, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Munroe and James Dean.

Oh, and the Elvis Presley burger is a burger with the lot — bacon, angus beef, cheese, lettuce and tomato.

2/1 Dayboro Rd

3285 8855