First Look: At Hector’s Deli Number Six, Nothing Is New

Walk down the top end of Little Collins Street during lunchtime and you’ll see countless office workers carrying white and red paper bags filled with salad sandwiches and tuna melts from Hector’s Deli. Just over a year after launching its first CBD location, the Dua Lipa-approved sandwich brand has opened a second city store, a 15-minute walk down the street.

The new Hector’s Deli – the brand’s sixth store – is also on Little Collins Street. It’s in the heritage-listed space beside Chancery Lane at Normanby Chambers, which formerly housed Bistro Vue and, more recently, Le Shoppe from Scott Pickett. “It’s had a bunch of iconic businesses in there over time, so it’s nice to be a part of history,” says Hector’s co-founder Dom Wilton. 

The menu will be the same as other Hector’s locations. You’ll find toasties, fresh sandwiches and egg and cheese breakfast rolls, as well as bakery items including croissants and doughnuts. “I think creativity lies in consistency and not in reinventing the wheel,” says Wilton. The chef and sandwich mogul sees longevity for the brand in continuing to focus on ingredients, technique and quality. 

As with all Hector’s stores, bread, pickles, sauces, and other sandwich components will be produced at Hector’s Bakery in Richmond to ensure quality and consistency. “The ultimate goal for Hector’s is changing the way people think you need to scale a restaurant concept, which is, keep it simple,” he says. “You can repeat the same thing over and over, as long as all of the effort is going into making sure it's good.”

But while the menu is unchanging, the team takes pains to ensure each bakery has its own vibe and feels at home in the neighbourhood. “As far as scalable businesses go, we’re not moving particularly quickly,” says Wilton. “A large part of that is because we struggle to find the sites to go into. We found this one and just jumped at it because of how beautiful the actual site is.” 

The new Deli marks the team’s first time collaborating with Adelaide-based architecture firm Studio Gram (Ponyfish Island, Arkhe in South Australia). With two-tone timber, reeded glass, stainless steel and pendant lights, Wilton says the space “feels very European or even New York-esque”.

Additional reporting by Akira Kerr

Hector’s Deli
430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
No phone

Hours:
Daily 7am–3pm

hectorsdeli.com.au
@hectors_deli