I’ve seen many cafes come and go, both good and bad, during the last 15 years writing about coffee and breakfast in Perth. In a city where complacency often wins over consistency, coffee has defied the odds and the standard continues to improve. Breakfast, however, never fully recovered from COVID, with pastries and toasties now more common than a full kitchen.
One venue that deserves a place at the top of our cafe list is Beaufort Street’s Source Foods, at the edge of the city on the corner of Brisbane Street. Bought from Gumtree by husband and wife Sam and Emma Ainsworth – as you did in the 90’s – it’s an outstanding cafe with true hospitality values at its core.
“We’d never worked in hospitality before, and it wasn’t easy,” recalls Sam. “We bought a little Volkswagen Caddy van, and would go to Morley Markets every Friday to pick up the vegetables and stock for the week. We couldn’t afford to have trucks come here, but now we have delivered daily what we used to go through in a week.”
An integral part of Source Food’s history and ongoing success is now-Manager Lauren Tonkin, who had been at the cafe for six months when Sam and Emma took over, and has worked there ever since. 12 years later, Sam and Lauren share the cafe’s operational tasks and responsibilities, with Emma behind the scenes taking care of accounts and admin.
“Lauren’s the good story because she started as the Sunday dishwasher, then did her stint behind the pass in the kitchen,” recalls Sam. “There was an opening up the front and we said, do you want to go out the front? And she said ‘no’.” “I think you said ‘too bad’,” adds Lauren.
It’s certainly more than just a job for both of them.
“We’re both passionate about it being good,” explains Sam. “Twice a year we go to Sydney or Melbourne just to ground ourselves and see what it looks like somewhere else. Otherwise you get sucked into the Perth bubble, where you see things on Instagram and think that’s normal, that’s what’s expected. Then you go to other places and go wow, okay. We’re big fans of Melbourne coffee, breakfast and service.”
The food menu stays largely fixed, with no drastic changes to upset the regulars. Weekly specials are used to test new ideas and see if the customers embrace them, although Sam notes it’s very hard to predict. Dishes range from my favourite Perth chilli scramble to wild mushrooms, corn & halloumi fritters and a popular breakfast board. There are also plenty of cabinet items to eat in-house or takeaway.
“The menu is written by Lauren and I,” says Sam, “We don’t employ head chefs as such, we employ kitchen staff. So the whole cafe is controlled by constants. Lauren does all the ordering as well. Between us, we do all of it. If we see the kitchen struggling, we’ve done our stint in the kitchen so we can jump in and do any of it.”
Source Foods acquired a reputation for being health-focused, however this was never the case; the word “organic” on some historic signage created a perception that continues to this day. Order the Japanese pancakes with fried chicken or decadent French Toast and that idea will be dispelled quickly.
“It’s taken us years to shake that, but we still get people turning up saying oh, you’re all organic,” says Sam. “The original menu was very haphazard with a chicken burger, cheeseburger, a vegan burger and a big breakfast. It had a bit of everything, adds Lauren.
I’ve been a regular at Source for some time now, and it’s the consistency that first kept me coming back. The coffee – a custom blend from local roaster Pound – is not only outstanding, it’s always the same no matter who makes it. Even trend-friendly drinks are prepared to a strict recipe, with care taken when it comes to ingredients and process.
“We weren’t going to do iced strawberry matchas or Mont Blancs, but we did them and sold so many. They’re such high selling drinks,” says Lauren. ” We put the time in. It’s not pre-batch matcha, it’s measured every time so each cup is the same,” adds Sam. “Nothing will ever hit the menu unless the recipe is set so everyone knows exactly how it’s done.”
Three Melbourne cafes have informed and continue to inspire the ongoing operation and development of Source. Batch brew from each can be found at the cafe in regular rotation, alongside single origin and retail options.
“When we’re in Melbourne, we stay in a hotel around the corner from Maker and start the day with their coffee. We always go to ST. ALi and spend time with their people,” says Sam. “We learnt to make coffee at Proud Mary, and that was the biggest game changer for our coffee.”
“We spent a week with Proud Mary and came back with…okay we’ve got the recipe, we’re doing it like this. And everybody was like, what? I know what 22 grams looks like. But no, you don’t,” recalls Lauren. “We learnt from good people what’s right, and why it’s right. If the coffee doesn’t hit parameters, it goes in the bin.”
Efficiency at Source is another point that has always impressed me, with three staff front of house and the same in the kitchen even at the busiest times. The cafe is light, bright and filled with greenery from Lauren’s side-hustle Ivy & Me Botanics. Tables can be booked and there’s plenty of seating, both inside and out.
Neither Sam or Lauren have any intention of opening a second venue, or even a desire to substantially increase the customer base. They’re happy with their weekend trade, although more weekday custom wouldn’t go amiss. Staff retention is high, and familiar faces go a long way to making Source an enjoyable destination for regular customers.
“Look after your staff and your staff look after you. Be a good human. These things are not rocket science,” says Sam. “We pay our staff on time, we pay the right amount. We never send anyone home. If the cafe’s quiet, that’s my problem. We have a really nice culture and I think that shows in everything that we do.”
You won’t find me using the current vernacular of “main character energy” or describing the “vibe” here. Hidden gem? Maybe, if I was forced. But I think underrated and undervalued are more appropriate descriptors. Source Foods is just a damn good cafe that ticks all the boxes, and one of the very few in Perth where the coffee, food and service are as excellent as each other.
“When I bought it, someone said to me that as soon as you start getting jaded about hospitality, it’s time to get out. So I wait for that day,” concludes Sam. “Obviously you have shitty days, but you get over it. Everyone that’s worked here, everyone we’ve ever interviewed, I’ve said the same thing. If you don’t like working here, don’t work here. It’s as simple as that. If you’re not having fun, don’t do it.”
Source Foods is open seven days for coffee, breakfast and lunch, excluding public holidays.
Source Foods
4/289 Beaufort Street, Perth (cnr Brisbane Street)
Mon – Sat 7:00am – 2:00pm | Sun 7:30am – 2:00pm | Closed public holidays
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See a gallery of photos from Source Foods below.
(text & images : Martin Eade)
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