Gator Club

Sometimes venue operators have a clear concept in mind and then spend years trying to find the right location for it. For Chloe Mattner, the owner and baker behind travelling vegan eatery Later Gator, it was a matter of necessity. She needed more space to upscale her wholesale bakery, Chlo’s Vegan Club, and this beautiful old corner store on the corner of Payneham Road and Marlborough Street in College Park proved too good to pass up.

Mattner, who has an interior architecture degree, worked on the design herself, aided by Sunnyside Build Co. They’ve kept the original corrugated iron and hardwood floors intact and added some simple pine shelving, a pine counter and a big glass cabinet for cake displays. The petite venue seats 18 inside and 25 outside.

On the menu you’ll find plenty of Mattner’s signatures, including a rotating line-up of cookies (think chocolate, miso and tahini), brownies, vanilla slices, sticky date carrot cake and stuffed croissants. On the savoury front, it’s toasties (filled with sage and thyme mushrooms, “notzarella” and pesto hummus or mac and “cheese” with maple “bacon” from No Harm No Fowl) and bagels, which might come smeared with smashed avo, Vegemite, lemon and hemp.

For coffee, Gator Club uses Coffee in Common’s More Juice Than Zeus espresso blend, which you can pair with Gator Club's own “Gator Mylk”, a house blend of soy, oat and almond milks. House-made hot chocolate and matcha, turmeric and red velvet lattes are also available, and you can buy the latte powders off the shelf.

Alongside her own products, Mattner showcases the work of local makers in a retail space within the cafe. Expect locally made ceramics, candles, jewellery and clothing, plus second-hand books, vintage wares and more.