Overview
Social enterprise cafe Sibling threw open its doors last week, marking the arrival of a venue that's little different to those in the surrounding streets of Carlton's northern edges.
The cafe is run by Kinfolk, another social enterprise cafe and caterer in the CBD, with both venues aiming to counteract social isolation through their volunteer programs. With the waitlist to volunteer at Kinfolk stretching for months, the team decided they needed to open a second venue to meet demands. And, thanks to a robust crowdfunding effort — which raised almost $30,000 more than the initial $60,000 target — Sibling came to fruition.
As a result, the volunteer task force, made up of people from more than 30 different countries and some of which are living with a disability, transitioning from prison or seeking asylum, was able to expand, with Sibling having room for 120 volunteers — double what Kinfolk could originally handle. So, you'll be able to enjoy tasty kimchi-spiked scrambled eggs from the volunteers, while they benefit from a friendly space, support and training.
Which brings us to Sibling's second aim: to make tasty food as sustainably and with as little waste as possible. Along with coffee by Small Batch, the food menu is inventive and diverse. On the brekky menu, there's tahini-topped bread with salted cucumber, chickpeas and pickles ($17); asparagus, chilli, cashew, basil, mint and scrambled tofu ($19); and pan-fried chicken livers — from Trentham's Milking Yard — with peas, shallots and sorghum ($24).
Lunch has the famously simple Roman pasta dish, cacio e pepe ($14) and a kangaroo tail braised with peas, labne and rice crisp ($22). And don't walk out without a sweet treat to finish things off — their truffles and cakes are mostly vegan and, from the sound of it, entirely tasty.
As another added bonus, all of Sibling's distributable profits are redistributed to different charities each year. This year it's Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) and The Cathy Freeman Foundation.
Find Sibling at 611 Nicholson Street, Carlton North. It's open Monday to Friday, 7am–3pm and Saturday and Sunday, 8am–4pm.