Melbourne really knows how to make old seem new again. There are bars on rooftops, cafes in car parks and galleries on alley walls. Now the city’s love affair with recycled cityscapes has stretched to the site of an old servo.
Tyranny of Distance has parked itself in an old service station in Windsor. The look is industrial chic with an artistic streak. Where once there were petrol pumps now there are bar stools and café tables where patrons fill up on espresso and stiff drinks. The kitchen is housed in the old ‘lubritorium’ where beat-up cars have given way to homemade flatbreads. The oil and grease is gone and in its place is a café/bar that is set to become a Southside destination.
Tyranny owners Carlo Colosimo (Lounge, Big Mouth Café, Two Fingers Café) and George Loukas (Tusk, Blue Elephant, Virgin Mary) commissioned several Melbourne artists to handle Tyranny’s design. Led by Melbourne jeweller and goldsmith Marcos Davidson, the approach focused on a unique recycling philosophy that lends Tyranny a real Bauhaus flavour.
The result is an accidental gallery of recycled parts and artisan labour. Lampshades were made from vulcanised fibre stitched together like old boots. Gas bottles have been fashioned into outdoor lamps, old bank notes became tables, graffiti hides old sins on a feature wall and a window covering has been designed in the image of a vintage meat safe.
The kitchen is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the menu has been designed using fresh, locally sourced produce with a focus on whole foods. From the signature flatbreads to the desserts and bircher muesli, everything is made or assembled by hand, providing a modern, rustic, café Melbourne experience. The bar serves a selection of local and imported beers, Chilean wines and healthful cocktails – and house blend espresso runs through the coffee machine all day long.
Discerning Windsor locals now have a chic but friendly fuelling destination at their doorsteps, and while those north of the river might consider it a tyranny to travel the distance, it’s worth going the extra mile for this café/bar.
