A husband and wife team have jumped straight into the deep end to create this impressive new eatery. Until October last year, Shane Edmunds had never worked in hospitality, let alone run an entire business combining a café, sandwich shop and bakery. Yet with the establishment of Charlie Lovett Neutral Bay, that is exactly what he and his wife Pavla now find themselves doing.

“We were living in Melbourne and had no plans to come to Sydney,” he says. “We found out in June 2010 that we were approved to become the first Charlie Lovett franchisee store, following the original George Street one. So we packed up our things and moved in August, taking up residence with my Aunty June. We’re eternally grateful to her!”

Created by entrepreneur Peter Caddick, Charlie Lovett is not actually a real person but rather, a fictional and aspirational identity that is all about being the best you can be, according to Shane and Pavla. “People come in and call me Charlie,” Shane chuckles. “They say, ‘Hi Charlie!’ and I just smile and play along.”

Unlike her husband, Czech born Pavla has a background in coffee, as well as a passion for pastries, desserts and baked goods. The pair always dreamed of opening a café together – a haven where customers could, in Pavla’s words, “relax and feel at home, like they’re hanging out with friends at someone’s house”.

With an emphasis on freshness, quality and outstanding customer service, the business is a very 21st century model, in that it doesn’t specialise in just one area.

All the food is prepared on site and the coffee is available in a variety of ways. There’s the Charlie house blend, the single origin and also micro lot offer.

Credits: Story by Ed Prescott.

Images by Richard Birch.