What were you doing at age 22? Dylan Breen had just opened his first cafe. Mr Wednesday (an old nickname of Breen’s) is located in the back streets of Fairfield and features an attractive fit-out he designed and built himself.

Breen left school at 16 to work as a carpenter by day and a waiter by night. Later he collected inspiration for his cafe while travelling. But it’s Fitzroy’s Industry Beans he looks up to most. It supplies Mr Wednesday’s two coffee blends and two rotating single origins.

Chef Nina De Goldi Way achieves a whole lot in what amounts to little more than a galley kitchen. From relatively easy stuff, such as granola, fruit toast and porridge, she advances to coffee-rubbed beef patty burgers, house-smoked ocean trout and a colourful rice salad.

The seating area’s not much bigger, though a dark mirror gives the illusion of space without the burden of gazing upon your early morning self. Add in dark timbers, raw steel girders and ferns bursting from the roofline, and you have a pretty package that feels contemporary but not derivative.

The final touch is a 1924 Scout motorbike bolted to the wall – Breen and his family ride vintage bikes for fun.

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Updated: September 1st, 2016

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