“We’ve been struggling for a word – like, provedore? Uh. General store? Ahh. Cafe? No. Restaurant? No. Bistro? Maybe.”
For James Spreadbury and Olivia Moore, Thelma is perhaps more easily defined by what it isn’t. But Moore has settled on a succinct description: “Coffee, food and wine.”
Their new venue – opening in May in the former Brid space in Piccadilly – is inspired by the all-day dining venues of Europe, where the place you have your morning coffee is also where you go for a glass of wine and a snack or to grab provisions for dinner.
The pair are opening the site alongside chef Tom Campbell (previously at The Summertown Aristologist), who’ll steer the kitchen. (The partnership has already been glimpsed by some at their pop-up dining experiences in Forest Range).
The trio share a similar approach to food, wine and hospitality, inspired by their collective experiences working across Europe, and a deep respect for produce and provenance. The food at Thelma will be influenced by what Spreadbury’s brother Tim is growing at his small-scale market garden, Presqil, nearby (you’ll also be able to pick up veggie boxes), and thus regularly evolving.
“A lot of the inspiration came from this idea of the farm – having access to a piece of land that we could tap into, [where Thelma] would become an extension of that property,” says Spreadbury. “It’s countryside cooking that’s rustic yet refined.”
That might mean grazing-style breakfast plates – made up of bits and pieces like seasonal veggies, cheese slices, house-made sourdough and a boiled egg – in the morning, plus tarts, pastries and madeleines baked in-house. For lunch, Campbell will be turning out nourishing, produce-led, French-leaning dishes like chickpea farinata, comté tarts, crudités and fresh curds, charcuterie, terrines, and seafood bouillabaisse, alongside local and European wines made “as purely as possible”.
Thelma (named after one of Spreadbury’s daughters) will operate mornings and afternoons from Friday to Sunday. You can also expect semi-regular intimate dinner experiences.
“Working for years in highly curated fine dining, I’m still just as passionate about creating those types of experiences, but at the same time, on the daily, I want a place where my friends and my kids can go,” says Spreadbury, who was service director at Noma for 12 years (he left in 2022, moving back to Adelaide to be near family).
Once Thelma opens, Spreadbury will move back to Copenhagen for work, but he’s content to have contributed to a little patch of Adelaide’s hospitality landscape.
“It’s about creating something together and something for the community up there – we hope we can be a little beacon for them to gravitate towards, but also be that place people in the city drive up to.” The arrival of Thelma will also fill the hole left by Brid’s departure, providing a welcome, kindred neighbour to Ensemble next door.
“We’ve known them for years and get along so well. It makes sense – I feel like our audience is very similar,” says Moore. “Our hours, like the days of the week, will be similar, and we’re already talking to them about market days, to try to collaborate as much as possible.”
In keeping with the neighbourhood vibes, Thelma will also have a small retail section, with a tight edit of local and international products like fancy pasta, tinned fish, bread and olive oil for visitors to take home or build their own lunch at the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden down the road.
Thelma will open at 176 Piccadilly Road, Piccadilly, by mid-May.
