Cafe Grenadine was one of the more surprising closures of 2017. The celebrated Camp Hill cafe was barely 18 months old when it stopped trading in November due to operational costs.

Elizabeth Florence and Sam Pethely were regular visitors to Grenadine and knew the Martha Street tenancy had potential. So they picked up the lease for their own cafe, Florence, due to open in August.

Cafe hoppers will likely recognise Florence and Pethely from Felix for Goodness in Burnett Lane in the CBD. It was there that they met and discovered they shared values around wholesome food and dining.

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“The way we like to approach food and dining is [making it] nourishing and vibrant and creative,” Florence says, explaining the concept for the cafe. “It's very produce driven with really local seasonal produce as the hero of the dish.”

Specialty coffee will come from Parallel Roasters, the celebrated local roaster chosen for its focus on ethical practices and quality control. There will also be a range of house-made drinks including plant-based smoothies, kefir and kombucha.

In addition to all-day dining and coffee, Florence will have a dedicated retail space selling house-made products including pickled and fermented produce, cultured dairy, pasta sauces, nut milks, and local organic sourdough and eggs.

“So if it's at the end of the day and you want to grab something for the evening meal, you can do that," Florence says. "Or, if you’re having a beautiful spread with friends on the weekend and you want to pick up some cheese, you can do that as well.”

Renovations are underway with design from Brisbane-based architect Peter Kuhnell. As you might imagine, the duo wants to keep Grenadine’s corner-store feel, which made it one of the prettiest cafes in the south.

“[We] also added some new modern touches,” Florence says. “We just found all this old 1950s checkered Lino underneath the floorboards where we want to put the deli," Florence says, "Which really lends itself [to the new concept].”

The standout feature will be an Italian terrazzo-style coffee bar in peach.

Furniture maker Talty Sargent was brought in to create custom pieces including timber tabletops, stools and arched shelving in the retail space. It will also build a hutch that will serve takeaway coffee on the street every morning.

Florence is scheduled to open at 54 Martha Street in mid-August.