Hope Street Café

Featuring artist XOLula for our current NAIDOC exhibition. XOLula is a Meanjin based artist and proud woman from Bundjalung Nation. Her work draws from her First Nations heritage and ongoing impact of colonisation flowing through her. She says, “It’s something I can’t ignore”.

Title: Culture is not Extinguished

Artist statement:
This artwork brings together many layers of of Country, memory, movement and cultural connection. It has salt water and fresh water. The paint marks reveal hidden fishing nets, fish, eels, emu, kangaroo, cockatoo, crocodile, goanna, a woman, a horse and much more. What can you see?

Featuring artist Duane Doyle for our current NAIDOC exhibition. Duane is a Jiman (Yiman) artist from Rockhampton, now based in Brisbane, whose work draws on deep ancestral roots in the South Carnarvon Gorge Ranges. He strongly identifies with his mother’s animal totem, the Googoobing (scrub turkey). Combining traditional and innovative techniques, his art explores identity, belonging and the enduring wisdom of Country as a living force. He is deeply guided by Dadirri, the traditional practice of deep, respectful listening.

Title: Goannas Mucking Around
Acrylic on canvas 46x46cm

New book drop!

Do you like your crime/thriller books? Have we got a treat for you!

Books by the following authors have just been dropped off to our free book exchange. James Patterson, Robin Cook, Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver, Patricia Cornwell and Robert Goddard books waiting for you.

Featuring artist Gloria Lebrocq Butler for our current NAIDOC exhibition. Gloria is a creative artist and designer whose work is deeply influenced by her rich cultural heritage and personal journey. As a member of the Stolen Generations, Gloria’s story is one of courage and strength. In recent times, Gloria reconnected with her Dunghutti community and returned to her ancestral lands, where she was warmly embraced. This reconnection lifted a significant burden from her shoulders.

Title: Wharaan Wunbarg - Bush Plum

Artist statement:
The bush plum is a tree that bears a small plum that can be ground to a pulp to add colour and taste to other foods. The fruit can be eaten fresh or stored in kangaroo fat to keep it from spoiling. It can also be boiled and used as a dye colour dried leaves for hats and grasses for weaving. The Ancestors used this knowledge and passed it in to future generations.

One of our featured artists Aunty Lavern Johnson-Gosling for our current NAIDOC exhibition. Aunty Lavern is a Gooreng Gooreng Senior Elder and proud South Sea Islander woman, raised in Bundaberg and Brisbane.

Title: Bountiful Harvest

Artist statement:
Growing food and identifying and propagating edible plants of all types was knowledge passed down to me, and I passed it to my pikinis. When I planted chillies one year, we had a bountiful harvest. I kid you not, there were hundreds of them. This knowledge is survival, family and culture. I used felt pens and my own colours to bring it to life, laying them out in a pattern. It is a way of remembering and marking them in my own way. Drawing them like this helps me hold on to those stories and pass them on. My artworks are part of keeping our memory strong and our culture moving.

Did you know that this painting is up for sale as a silent auction?

Local artist and barista extraordinaire Bree Aspinall has generously donated this painting to assist with our pay it forward program!

Title: ‘Worlds’ for the Young Ones

Artist statement:

I am a First Nations Māori. Opportunities like the NAIDOC week exhibition gives opportunity to create bridges between past lived experiences and present moments. Learning from First Nations to spirit and land has grown my truth within myself and my lineage. The relationship First Nations people have with the Earth, the teachings I have learned from this land in my own time, and the powerful movement of Indigenous footsteps towards the future have brought my own experience as an artist and unacknowledged Indigenous young person who experienced cultural suppression to the surface.

Pop your bid in for this beautiful piece!
Insta contact: unitedartistsproject
Facebook contact: United Artists Project
Email: [email protected]

During the last quarter, you have helped us subsidise 1,734 😮 food and beverage items for our community. This has brought us to a total of 2,554 items so far this year. A big thank you for all your help!

FREE upcoming community events this month:
- 8th July, Wednesday, 1-3PM- NAIDOC exhibition
- 28th July, Tuesday - 530PM ( performers register). 6PM - 730PM (showtime)

Some yummy winter specials on rotation and in the cabinet:
- soups!
- beef brisket and blue cheese burger with our in-house made beetroot relish
- pork belly adobo on rice
- poached egg congee with crispy chilli oil
- Vegemite and 2 cheese toastie
- Reuben sandwiches

Bring out your inner child by playing a game of trouble!

We love love LOVE seeing our regulars come in and have fun with the games we have in-house.

One of our favourite things to see is our guests using the space as intended. Phones are away and precious quality time being spent together. Chess is also really good for logic and strategic thinking!

We build community by providing a space where you are free to play one of many game boards we have in-house.

Strawberries and cream croissants!
In cabinet until sold out.
South Brisbane site.

New seasonal menu item!

Orange and poppyseed pancakes served with fresh orange segments and a vanilla bean and rosemary syrup to drizzle. 🥳

Have for breakfast or even a cheeky lunch treat 😉

Looking for a tasty lunch meal that won’t break the budget? Have we got the thing for you!

Grab a sausage roll that we make in-house and match it up with our freshly made daily salads for $10!

Current rolls:
- Japanese Curry Vegan
- Massaman Chicken Curry

South Brisbane Open Mic night at Hope St Cafe!

Got a song to belt out?
A piece to play on your guitar?
How about some spoken word?

Come and flex your creative muscles and join the crew!

Performer register at 530PM.
Show starts at 6PM and ends at 730PM.

In March, you have helped us subsidise 554 food and beverage items for our community. This has brought us to a total of 1,010 items for the year so far. Thank you for all your donations for our local community especially in these 🌶️ geopolitical times!

Free upcoming community event this month:
- 28 April, Tuesday. Open Mic Night!

You may have also noticed a price rise in the cafe in the last week. Due to the aforementioned 🌶️ geopolitical circumstances our wholesalers have raised their prices understandably. We have tried our best to absorb the costs, however, we run on a lean budget as a social enterprise and are unable to cover it all.

How can we make it up to you?

Join our rewards program! Our rewards program is inclusive of all our products (not just the coffee!). You are rewarded for every dollar that you spend.

You’ve spent a total of $70? Claim $5 off your next purchase!

You’ve managed to rack up 240 points? You can get up to $20 off your next spend and treat a friend or two to a cake or a coffee.

Sign up the next time you come in :)

Take advantage of our subsidised food items!
- our in-house sausage rolls with a serve of salad for $10
- basic cheese toasties for $2
- buy a coffee and get a discounted rate of $10.95 for our generous brekky burgers or $3.50 for our freshly baked muffins.

See you when we are looking at you!

Donations update!

During February, you have helped us subsidise 456 food and beverage items for our local community. This has brought us to a total of 906 items for the year. With your generous donations we can keep this program going!

Free upcoming community events:
- 20th March: Nilima Harjal’s “A life in colour” 430 - 7PM. Artwork, snacks and bevvies available to purchase.
- 24th March. Open Mic Night. 530-7PM

Other things happening around our end of town in March:
- We would love to welcome all science delegates arriving for the World Science Festival in Brisbane this month. We are big big fans of doctor_karl , astenant katherinebennel_pegg, bird loving Professor Hugh Possingham hugepossum and fungi funman Jeremy Hegg of partial_veil. We have an environmental science student working with us and would probably have a fangirl fit if you came through and grabbed a coffee (hint hint 😉). Thank you for sharing your brains with us!

We would like to honor all the women in the hospitality industry who came before us. Their creativity, resilience and leadership continues to shape us today. Women leaders in the industry has shifted the focus to emphasize gender diversity, workplace policies and growing support networks.

We would like to recognise the following women for their impact in the industry:
- recipe_tin’s Nagi Maehashi whom has made more people cook tasty meals at home (I know a lot of our staff hacks into this recipe book regularly!);
- Australians of the year Vanessa Brettell and Hannah Costello of cafesteppingstone
- Sarah Scott of joyrestaurant whom we’ve been eyeing longingly for awhile. We will get to eat there eventually!
- Kirsty Leigh of espressotrainnundah whose community contribution in the social enterprise world of Brisbane is innumerable,
- bella_and_tortie’s Suzi Unwin delectable desserts whom we line up for regularly and inspires us to create more goodies for you,
- Along with our very own nettygillespie whom Hope St Cafes wouldn’t be around without.

We thank you for all you have done, are doing and will continue doing way into the future!