Don’t stand so close to me: Popular Carlton café angers nearby neighbours

The Florian café in Rathdowne St Carlton has found itself in a fight with its residential neighbours.

The popular venue often has lines of people queued up outside residential homes as they wait to be served.

Such is the angst among residents, that Melbourne’s Yarra City Council is now involved after receiving several complaints.

To ease the issue, the council installed a red decal on the footpath with the words: “Florian Eatery customers, please do not stand here.”

The café has a loyal following for its seven day a week breakfast and lunch offering, with customers filling the inside and al fresco spaces.

However, it is the takeaway traffic that has angered neighbours, who are now threatening legal action on the basis the café is trading beyond its legal boundaries.

They have complained of rubbish from the café being left on their properties and too much noise preventing them from working from home.

“I’ve lived in the inner city for 40 years. I’m entirely supportive of cafes and small traders in the area,” one resident told The Age.

“[But] I’m opposed to anybody serving people outside their premises. From my point of view, people should not be able to serve outside the perimeter of their licence.” 

Florian has attempted to appease residents by redirecting customers away from properties, however once beyond their boundaries the café has little power.

The dispute began in November 2021.

“Council has been working with the cafe and the neighbours to resolve this issue. Both parties were co-operative and satisfied with the decision to install a decal,” a council spokesperson said.

However, the sign is not enforceable.

Gerald’s Bar owner Mario Di Ienno believes council should defend the right of café customers.

“I don’t understand what the major issue is. If there was violence, rubbish, spitting, all those things, then yes,” he told The Age. 

“But this is a cafe and people waiting for takeaway coffees standing on the footpath and the grass median strip. What is the issue?”

Urban planning has long been an issue in the inner city. 

Andrew Butt, an associate professor in urban planning at RMIT, said “There’s a point at which we just have to accept that the public street is for public use, and sometimes that means effectively loitering, if you like, waiting for service. And that doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

“This is what a vibrant neighbourhood looks like,” Butt said. “We’ve seen what it looks like when the city is empty, and it’s not a very desirable type of city.”

Florian Eatery owners are yet to comment.