COMING SOON: This tiny new inner north cafe is serving home kitchen charm through a hole-in-the-wall

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Image credit: Eon Design

A tiny new Nailsworth cafe is set to bring a Melbourne-style, hole-in-the-wall coffee culture to Adelaide’s inner north, shaped by co-owner Ahmed’s memories of neighbourhood bakeries in Afghanistan and a desire to create a local place people fold into their daily routine.

Set to open on Howard Street in May, the new spot from co-owners and husband and wife duo Ahmed Azimi and Suem Valiyff is leaning fully into its compact footprint, with a hole-in-the-wall setup built around quality coffee, toasties, and a desire to connect the suburb through an Afghan sense of community.

Set in a mainly residential strip of Nailsworth, the cosy suburban cafe is aiming to capture the kind of unexpected charm you might find in a suburb like Carlton in Melbourne’s inner-north.

For Ahmed and Suem, that was part of the appeal of this shopfront from the moment they first first heard about it.

“We actually spotted it when our friends moved in just around the corner,” he says. “At the time it was occupied by somebody else, but straight away I thought, ‘oh my god, this spot would be great for a cafe because it’s just in the heart of the suburb’.”

“It was nice and green, there’s lots of people walking around, and I felt like it just hit the vibe really well.”

“It just sort of went on from there,” Ahmed says. “Things started lining up really well. We were like, well, we can’t not do this now.”

The pair have more than two decades of hospitality experience between them, and while they’re now working in different careers, opening a cafe like this has long been a dream.

“We’ve always wanted to open a cafe,” Ahmed says. “It’s always just been a thing in the back of our minds really, and something exactly like what we’re trying to do at the moment was the goal.”

“When this opportunity presented itself, it was just like, well, screw it, we’re going to take a risk.”

“The space itself is quite small, so we’re trying to utilise it the best we can,” Ahmed says. “That certainly leans into being a hole-in-the-wall type of place.”

Because of the cafe’s small footprint, the concept has naturally taken shape as a grab-and-go offering, with coffee, teas, toasties and a few specialty drinks likely to headline the menu.

But while the menu may be simple, the idea behind the cafe runs much deeper.

Ahmed says the atmosphere they’re trying to create is inspired in part by his memories of Afghanistan, where each suburb had its own local bakery and a rhythm built around it that really brought people together.

“Back home, each neighbourhood had their own bakery, like the little neighbourhood bakery, and in the mornings everybody would go there and get their bread,” he says.

“There was a really good sense of community and you sort of knew everybody. You saw your neighbour there and had a chat. That’s the type of feel I think we’re going for.”

Once it opens, Ahmed says he hopes for Around The Corner to become a familiar stop where they’ll slowly get to know the people around them.

“It’s just being part of that neighbourhood and building relationships,” Ahmed says. “On top of that, obviously, we both love good coffee, we both love really good food, and excellent service. That all plays into the whole picture.”

The Melbourne comparison is one Ahmed quickly agrees with too, saying the vision is very much inspired by those tucked-away suburban spots that feel discovered rather than announced.

“You go into these random side streets where there’s just homes and all of a sudden there’s a cafe and it’s super busy and it just has a good feel to it,” he says. “That’s the exact vibe.”

That same thinking is shaping the fit-out, with the interiors designed by SA-based Eon Design to feel like you’re walking into a friend’s home kitchen. Ahmed says the direction has already struck the right chord.

“I like that idea, given what we’re trying to do and the feel and the vibe we’re trying to set as well.”

If you’re fond of the idea of the kitchen as the heart of the home, it’s a fitting approach for a venue built around community.

Inside, seating will be minimal, with room for a small bench at the window, but outdoor seating is also planned under the neighbouring veranda on days when the adjoining hairdresser Kaboo Hair Boutique is closed.

For now, the focus is on getting the fit-out underway and readying the little space for its first customers, with an opening expected in May.

And if all goes to plan, this tiny suburban corner could soon become one of those local places people wish they’d found sooner.

Around The Corner
When: Expected to open in May
Where: 1/60 Howard St, Nailsworth
For more info, click here.