(Regularly updated with information)

Deniliquin has had a lot of Cafe’s and Diners over the years and we’re attempting to name them all which will take some time to do as we look over photographs and other images and records.

Some of these may be businesses that existed in the same place but had different names, this entry will be regularly updated as more details come to hand.

Some pictures have come directly from Deniliquin History in Photos and Deniliquin & District Historical Society.

Broadway Café

Was located across the road from the Union Bank which was also the site of the Town Hall Café and was in business for many years.

Locals and visitors in 1926 could get a hot lunch from the café at noon daily although other ads in 1926 also said 12:30 and their specialty was Coffee with Toast or Sandwiches as well as Asparagus while special dishes were to order.

The café had a sandwich service and they also sold Cooked Ham.

C. Lane De Boos was recorded in ads as the proprietor in 1926.

IXL Ice Cream was offered to customers for purchase in 1926 and their phone number was 426.

Miss Marshall was announced in papers in at least 1928 that she had taken over the Café with hot suppers available until 10:30pm on weeknights with longer hours on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Mr S. Rymer brought the Broadway Café in 1928 as ads were running in at least December that year.

A September 1929 report refers to “Mr Rymer, of the Broadway Café who provided supper for the Country Party Ball at Town Hall.”

Ads for the Café in 1932 indicate the the café was run by the Robertson brothers and in 1933 the Panaretto brothers ran ads indicated they had taken over the business.

Thefts were reported in 1932, the theft resulted in the loss of Mutton, 14 meat pies and other foodstuff.

Trophies for the 1932 Deniliquin Show were displayed behind the windows of the café and ads advertised that fresh or cooked fish were available at the café.

The Café was altered in 1934 and was completed that same year.

Thieves stole £22 from the Café in April 1935 with £19 of that amount in cheques.

A children’s party for a dance school was held at the café in 1936 and at least 22 people were at the event.

In 1936 it was discovered that milk sold at the café contained 34% added water resulting in fines and hard labour for the accused.

In November 1937, Mr J. Panaretto handed over the business to the Condos (once mistakenly mentioned in The Independent as Convos) Brothers.

The café hosted many wedding receptions with The Independent regularly reporting on receptions held there.

Constantinos (and Charlie?) Condos was running the café into the 1940’s and it was mentioned in 1941 that he brought a café in Napier Street  (Mona Café) and provided Adams’ Cake to both locations.

Mona Café

Was located in Napier Street.

Before 1941, the Café was run by W. Hore who was then replaced by Constantine Condos.

The Ferrari family along with others ran the café from 1942, family members recall a story that a lot of effort had to be put in for scrubbing the lino and the stove.

In 1946, John Ferrari received a cheque that was proved to be valueless, the youth who gave the cheque received a suspended three month sentence.

A list made in March 1946 indicates that the business lease of the Mona Café went from L. M Ferrari to R.R Whitehead, this event happened anytime in the previous 12 months.

Two girls were wanted to be hired by the Café in November 1946.

A man was found there in 1949 after jumping off the National Bridge, the man jumped off the bridge after his wife dared him to jump, the man was arrested at the Café.

E. Halacas  also owned the Café and a tea pot from the Halacas era still exists with a picture of it posted in 2022.

Those who went to the Regent Theatre were known to use the lane beside the Regent to get to the café instead of walking down the rest of Edwardes Street, going along Cressy Street and turning right to go up Napier Street.

The café was considered popular and has been affectionately remembered many locals decades after it closed.

Locals recall buying Hot chips, two potato cakes plus black sauce all for the pre 1966 price of 1 shilling and 6 pence.

Fried Eggs and Bacon were also on offer and the place was known to be an excellent place to battle a hangover.

The café is remembered to have lasted into the video game cabinet era which would place it in the 1980’s.

Café Bakery 285 (current)

Located at 285 Cressy Street.

Café Bakery 285 has been in operation approaching twenty years and offers diners a range of food and drink from snacks to full meals plus a range of drinks.

The café has recently attracted attention for having a Pinball Machine on the premises, this brought joy to people who missed having the machines so freely available in shops across town.

Management changed hands on December 29 2021 with the announcement made on the Café’s Facebook page.

The café is open from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday with the business closed on Sunday.

Café Bakery 285 can be contacted on (03) 5881 8584.

Brontes Gourmet (current)

Located at 32 Napier Street and is open from 8am until 5pm every day apart from closing on 1pm on Saturday and is closed all Sunday.

Brontes its shop front in 2019 which was shown off on Facebook on May 5 2019, the work included a new paint job and the addition of flowers.

Brontes offers a range of food for customers and they include muffins, wraps, toasties and soups as well as Coffee and cool drinks.

The business has been riding out the 2019 redevelopment of the road and footpath in front of their business that has denied customers from parking close to the establishment.

Their phone number is (03) 5881 5794

Crossing Café (current)

The Crossing Cafe is located in between the Information Centre and the Peppin Heritage Centre.

It is open six days a week from Tuesday to Sunday and offers Breakfast and Lunch Service at 7:15 to 11am and 11:30am to 2pm and if you want to have Dinner there, booking is essential.

Their phone number is 03 5881 7827 to make queries or booking for dinner.

Scoop n Brew (current)

The Scoop n Brew filled in a huge hole in Deniliquin Plaza when it opened for business, it occupies the shop that formerly housed the video store Movieland.

It quickly gained a reputation as a high quality, dependable business and offers a whole range of food and drink.

Food that has been sold include Soup, Curried Sausages, Spaghetti Bol, Burgers, Chips, Ice Cream and more.

It has a Facebook rating of 5 out 5 after 33 reviews.

Scoop n Brew is open 7 days a week with 8am to 5pm hours Monday to Friday, 9 to 3pm on Saturday and 10am to 2pm on Sunday.

Their phone number is (03) 5881 6975.

Probert’s Cafe, Globe Cafe & Primrose Café

Deniliquin Independent called the café “Probert’s Café” or “Globe Café” from around the 1920’s

Patrons in 1925 could buy Herbert Adams’ celebrated Cake & Sponge Sandwich at the café and it was fresh twice weekly.

The Café was renovated in 1934 and was considered the ‘most extensively stocked and equipped café in the district’.

In 1936, heavy rain damaged ‘a good deal of stock’, this rain also damaged several other businesses.

Patrons could buy “Strong Tomato Plants” from the café in 1936 and other plants and seedlings were available by calling 190 or 30.

Surviving online records have the Primrose name mentioned in The Independent in 1941 though a couple of years of the paper are not yet digitized or have been lost.

In 1946, Henry Nash faced court after being charged with not paying his employees award rates and was fined 22 pounds.

The ceiling in the Kitchen collapsed during a storm in February 1948, R. K. Allen was proprietor at that time.

On September 11 1999, the Cafe and Coffee Lounge was put up for auction, the auction included the Leasehold Business and the 3 bedroom residence.

The building is now occupied by Deniliquin Florist.

Red Rose Diner (current)

The Red Rose Diner was damaged in 2018 when TLC Real Estate was set on fire.

Before the fire the diner was getting a reputation for being a great place with a FB rating of 5 out of 5 after 34 reviews.

Red Rose Diner has brought its range of goods to events with one example being the showing of movies at Waring Gardens in April 2019.

In late 2019 it was announced that its new premises was almost ready for public viewing with the public getting a good look on Facebook.

On November 13 2019 it was announced that the café was back in operation and its popularity continued on from the levels it enjoyed before the fire.

The café has supported many fundraisers over the last couple of years 

Deni Diner

Deni Diner only had a short existence thanks to a fire that severely damaged it and Green Pepper Pizza.

Unfortunately the café never reopened.

Blue Sea Café

Formerly located in Cressy Street.

Not much is known about it online apart from the fact the Café achieved immortality by being in the opening seconds of a Big M ad, it is said that the Blue Sea was chosen by producers due to it being relatively free of ads of various brands.

At least one colour photo exists online of the café and the shops next to it which was a Pet Shop and the Saddlers.

The building was later demolished and a new one built in its place with the Black Cat Café now in the spot where the Blue Sea was.

Tarilta Cafe

The Tarilta Café was opened next to Jane and Jane’s around 1916 and was run was J. H Donovan.

The ads announcing that Mr. Donovan opened the Tarilta and ran it at least between 1916 and 1918.

It is possible that the Tarilta Café morphed into the Black Cat Café.

Black Cat Café

A fixture in an always changing town, Black Cat has been around for since at least the 1940’s and currently the business sits comfortably among its takeaway competitors.

The Ferrari family purchased the Black Cat Café in 1940 and two years later the family had the Mona Café too.

The first online mention of the Black Cat Café we could find was an advertisement made in March 1941, a girl was wanted to be hired by the Café and applicants had to apply to Mrs. Ferrari.

The next mention was in January 1946 after a RAAF man was arrested for drunken behavior and breaking a table at the café.

Marshall and Barnes were running the café in 1948, the Marshall and Barnes families were related by marriage when Fred Barnes married Joyce Marshall in 1937.

Gus Seymour taken over the Black Cat Café from Fred Barnes in 1955 and ran it for five years.

Steak Sandwiches in the Seymour era were 2 shillings and Pies with sauce were sold for 1 shilling.

The Black Cat Café has stayed in Cressy Street throughout its run, it occupied a building to the left of where Intersport Bennett’s is before moving a short distance to 326 Cressy Street before moving to 343 Cressy Street as 326 Cressy Street was demolished for the construction of Centrelink.

2015 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Savellis family running the café.

Central Café

Was located in Cressy Street in the spot later made popular by O.B’s (261 Cressy Street) and their telephone number was 81 1644.

The business later on moved to Hardinge Street before closing and the signage lasted for many years and was seen on Google Street View until very recently.

They offered Pizzas, Chicken, Cigarettes, Soft Drinks, Bread and Milk and were open 7 days a week from 10am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am to Midnight on Friday and Saturday.

In 1985, Theo and Vicky Mitropolous sold the business to Peter and Fay Efstathiou with the handover announced in the Pastoral Times.

Old Dublin Café

We’re still trying to find information on this one but it was where the Dublin Hotel occupied the space until it was closed down in 1920.

F. Bishop’s Fruit Shop and Café

F. Bishop’s Fruit Shop and Café occupied the building that is now owned by the Huddle family.

The café was damaged in January 1936 by heavy rain, the rain event caused damage to several other shops in town.

In the November 4 1937 edition of the Deniliquin Independent, the Café was said to have been rebuilt and business was moved back to its original location after temporarily  operating next to the Deniliquin Independent (aka The Independent).

Fred Bishop is said to have made the best ice cream in town.

The phone number for the café was 184.

The building later became occupied by Huddles and is now a HQV Bargains store.

Town Hall Café

The Town Hall Café was located to the left of Town Hall and can be seen in several postcards of Town Hall, the spot is now shrubs and lawn.

Mentions of McCann’s Town Hall Café was changed to Town Hall Café sometime around 1930 with Miss D. Lane running the business.

In 1932, the café was mentioned in Town Hall Pictures advertisements as being “Adams’ Café” (Next Town Hall).

The Café existed into at least the 1930’s when advertisements stopped appearing.

One photo when looked at with a magnifying glass indicates that the Café sold Sweets and Old Gold chocolate which was made by MacRobertson’s before eventually becoming part of Cadbury.

Napier Café

Ads for the Napier Café started appearing in The Independent no earlier than December 1925.

The Andronico Brothers purchased the business conducted by Mrs. Sharpe and their ads offered patrons the following

Best Fruit Procurable
Cool Fountain Drinks
Best Brands of Confectionery
Ice Cream
Big variety in Ice Cream Specials and Sundaes
Orders taken for Poultry
Specialty Cooked ‘Pineapple’ Hams
Fishing and Picnic Parties catered for
Meals at all hours

At all hours was no joke as the Napier Café was listed as being open as late as midnight, giving locals plenty of options.

It was reported in 1926 that Nicholas Andronico held the patent to ‘Ice Cream on a Stick’, it is entirely possible that Deniliquin was a testing ground for Australia after the invention was created in the United States.

In August 1926, a man was fined after using obscene language after being refused sandwiches when he called in after midnight.

A man was fined £3 in November 1937 for using insulting language.

The telephone number for the Café was 147.

Happy World Café

Happy World Café existed in Wellington Plaza.

Victoria Café?

Mentioned in August 1932 as a place to vote at and again in 1934, it is possible that the Victoria Café was where the Victoria Hotel once operated and the site later became Deniliquin Toyota.

OB’s

OB’s was fairly popular particularly in the early 2000’s and it existed next to Rockman’s.

As of July 2021, the business lives on thanks to Google taking their time in updating Street View giving users of Google Earth an opportunity to OB’s as it was back in 2008.

Devour café and catering

Business is in operation at the former location of OB’s and is in operation today.

The business offers meals like Lasagna as well as Veggie Frittata, Chicken Parma, Chips, Soup, Rice Dishes and more.

The business has just over 700 follows on Facebook and is updated fairly regularly.

Crusin’ Diner

One of Deniliquin’s most recent diners, this establishment at 162 Hardinge Street offers their full menu for takeaway.

It is the second Café or Diner to have a 1950’s theme in Deniliquin which is not a problem as there are room for both and both are spectacularly designed.

Over sixteen hundred people follow the Diner on Facebook and it is updated regularly so people.

Uncertain Historical Details

In 1937, owner Mr. C. McDonald was reported to be confined to his room, he owned a cafe in Napier Street.

Mr. Harvey was owner of a cafe in Napier Street in 1937

If one was