Broadsheet Sydney
Caroline Beresford has been working with Willow Frank as Retail Design Manager for Saporium, to review all of the tenants’ design plans to ensure consistency and to design communal spaces and furniture.
A New Kind of Marketplace
BY MEGHNA BALI 29th February 2016
Open markets are not uncommon in the inner city, but Saporium has created a diverse precinct in Rosebery.
Peter Mystriotis was traversing one of the many market halls in Europe when he realised there was a niche to be filled back home. The inspiration behind his latest food precinct, Saporium was less concerned with trends and more focused on creating a singular space where patrons could buy the basics and have an immersive experience.
“It’s so much more enjoyable when you actually get to know the personalities behind the fresh produce, your coffee, the guy chopping up your roast,” says Mystriotis. “It feels like a community.”
Saporium is located inside The Cannery in Rosebery, where more than 12 food provedores make up an urban marketplace. “Initially I had very roughly sketched who I wanted as tenants and where they would be located inside the warehouse. I always knew I wanted them all to complement, rather than compete with each other,” explains Mystriotis.
The space is home to organic grocer Wholefoods House; artisan butcher Kingsmore Meats; Grain Organic Bakery; Welcome Dose Specialty Coffee Roasters; and The Choc Pot. New restaurants include god of the ‘gram, Zeus Street Greek and 5th Earl, a casual eatery that fuses Lebanese and Greek cuisines. There’s even a cooking school at the heart of it all.
“Everything must be exposed to the customer so they can see the authenticity of it all,” says Mystriotis.
“It’s an educational experience for the customer,” says Brian Horgan, owner of Grain Organic Bakery. “The only thing between the baker and customer is a glass wall, which means they get to see the bread and the oven it’s coming out of, which creates excitement.”
Each tenant commissioned its own designer to reflect its personal vision. The only stipulation was that everything remains transparent. “Ash Clarke from The Choc Pot is basically creating his desserts in a giant glass box,” says Mystriotis. Caroline Beresford, the designer behind Kingsmore Meats, was approached to review all of the tenants’ design plans to ensure consistency.
Grain Organic Bakery, Zeus Street Greek, 5th Earl and The Choc Pot are open now. Wholefoods House, Vive Cooking School and Kingsmore Meats will join them in April. Welcome Dose Speciality Coffee Roasters will begin brewing in September.
Saporium is located at 61 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery and is open seven days a week from 8am.