Tuckertorium stood on the corner of Tucker and Patterson Roads in Bentleigh for more than 50 years. But after two years of planning and renovations, Brent Scales and Brett Louis turned it into Good Times Milk Bar: a colourful, Californian-cool cafe.

Louis co-founded Sugar Mountain festival, and designed the colourful fit-out of Palm Springs pink and French blue. The walls are adorned with ’80s-style pop art by Hours After including an ice-cream cone, a beach ball, a life preserver, coffee, dogs and burgers.

In a huge space that feels like it goes on forever, things are kept fresh with plenty of indoor plants. There’s more room out back in the four-legged-friendly courtyard, which seats 34 – perfect for a Sunday arvo kick-back.

All-day breakfast options include egg soldiers with relish, and pastrami Benedict with potato waffles, poached eggs and brown-butter hollandaise. For something lighter, go the shaved-zucchini salad with butter beans, buckwheat, salted ricotta and pine nuts. On the sweeter side, try the ricotta hotcakes with berry compote, meringue crumb, vanilla ice-cream, spiced maple syrup and popping candy. A 180-gram beef burger with beer-battered fries is available from 11am.

Rotating sweets come from Little Bertha and Cremorne St. Bakers, and coffee from Small Batch Roasting Co.