Breadcetera, From the Riserva and Lucia Team, Is the Curated Grocer Malvern East Was Missing

After seven years running the popular Malvern East wine bar Riserva, Frank Ciorciari and Anthony Silvestre (also behind Lucia and Baia Di Vino) have a strong sense of what locals are after. They noticed a gap in the market for a curated grocer, similar to those found in surrounding suburbs like Prahran, where there’s a Morning Market, and Armadale, home to Ruben’s Deli and a Blakeaway outpost.

The small shopping area bordering Central Park has become livelier at night since Italian restaurant Grazia opened in 2023. But it has lacked everyday essentials since the fruit shop closed a few years ago and Irma’s Delicious Delights, the small bakery on the corner of Wattletree and Bourke roads, shut indefinitely after a fire last June.

At the team’s new store Breadcetera, “it’s about curating what we feel the area needs,” Ciorciari tells Broadsheet. To him that means “really good bread, good coffee, and all the things I love to have in my own pantry.”

You’ll find sourdough and French baguettes from Blanc Bakery in Berwick – which supplies Lucia and Riserva – as well as lavender honey rye loaves, ficelle and fougasse from Our Place in the Yarra Valley foothills. Seasonal sweets such as miso caramel escargots, olive and confit garlic swirls, and gingerbread kugel are all from Austro in North Melbourne.

There are takeaway packs of Riserva’s fresh pasta and wagyu bolognese, and shelves lined with jams, preserves, hot sauces, Allpress coffee beans and drinks such as small-batch aperitifs. You’ll also find homewares from brands including Maison Balzac, Robert Gordon Pottery and Alex and Trahanas.

Some of the breads find their way into the grab-and-go menu in the form of green chilli tuna melts and Barkly ham and gruyère sandwiches with Jam Lady Jam’s sweet mustard pickles.

“We want people to taste different products through our sandwiches and get inspired to replicate the flavours at home – or maybe use them in something entirely different,” says Ciorciari.

Though the shop is primarily geared for takeaway, there'll soon be stools by the front window for those who prefer to dine in.

Breadcetera
399 Wattletree Road, Malvern East
No phone

Hours:
Daily 8am–4pm

@breadcetera.etc