When hospitality veterans and married couple DJ and Adela Richard decided to have kids, they knew they needed a break from the late nights that often come with kitchen life.

“After many years of 14-hour days, we took some time off to try and have a family,” DJ tells Broadsheet. They welcomed baby boy Maxwell 10 months ago.

After discovering a new kind of sleep deprivation, the couple, who previously ran lunch- and dinner-focused burger joint Balwyn Canteen, decided they were ready to re-enter the industry. They opened Maxiemoon Canteen in Moonee Ponds at the end of autumn.

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“We’ve named it Maxie [after our son] and ‘moon’ as an ode to Moonee Ponds,” DJ says. The illustrated logo depicts their baby boy getting ready to dive into a burger.

This new spot on Puckle Street serves a golden trio of burgers, doughnuts and (very) thick shakes that don’t fall out of the cup when they’re held upside down. Almost everything, from the sauces to the doughnuts, is made on-site.

But the highlight is the house-made burger buns. DJ, who grew up in his parents’ bakery, rocks up at 3am to make Maxi buns – a milk bun and brioche hybrid – that take six hours from start to finish. The buns are used for all the burgers and are light, fluffy and not too sweet so they can pair with a juicy beef patty and a sizzling sunny-side-up egg.

If you’re looking for brekkie, get a load of the Staff Pick One breakfast burger where a juicy beef patty is crowned with egg, bacon and crisp onion fritter and drizzled with Maxi’s barbeque sauce. For lunch, try the Staff Pick Two burger starring Southern-style fried chicken with tomato, lettuce, Swiss cheese, ranch sauce and red onion for extra crunch.

There are crisp, fluffy doughnuts (Adela recommends the crowd favourite Biscoff number) that are great for dunking into a hot coffee.

The thick shakes are another highlight. Adela says the secret to getting a gravity-defying shake is using solely ice-cream. The Oreo thick shake is a Maxiemoon favourite.

Adela tells Broadsheet managing a cafe as new parents “comes with its challenges”, but adds that “this time around we are trying to focus on breakfast and lunch instead of dinner so Dad can still spend time with Maxie and not come home at 10pm like we used to”.

Maxiemoon Canteen
26 Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds
9464 2953

Hours:
Tue to Thur 8am–5pm
Fri & Sat 8am–8pm
Sun 8am–6pm

@maxiemoon_canteen/