Cibi

Cafe, designer's paradise and overall very cute space Cibi expanded in a big way back in 2018. Having spent the past decade on Keele Street in Collingwood, it outgrew the original site — filling it to the brim with Japanese homewares and cafe customers — but it didn't move far. Just a few hundred metres down the same street, actually.

Taking up residence in a huge 800-square-metre warehouse, which was once a garment factory, Cibi could stretch out across a space four times the size of the original. Although the word "cibi" means "little one" in Japanese, little it no longer is.

Sticking with the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi (acceptance of beauty in imperfection), the warehouse now has exposed beams, concrete and brick finishes, with owners Meg and Zenta Tanaka purposefully leaving things untouched.

The cafe has expanded its cafe menu, too, with food available from breakfast through to afternoon tea. You can try dishes for the store's recently published cookbook, Cibi: Simple Japanese-Inspired Meals to Share with Family and Friends, and its super-popular Japanese Breakfast — with grilled salmon, omelette, seasonal greens, rice and miso soup — will now be available every morning, instead of just weekends.

In terms of the homewares, the brands exclusively imported by Cibi (such as Hakusan porcelain and Sori Yanagi cutlery) have been built on, with the addition of larger items — such as furniture — and more brands. Love the food at Cibi in Collingwood? Buy the cookbook and recreate such dishes at home. Equally enamoured by the plate it was served on? Those are for sale, too. Even the chair you sit on could have a price tag underneath it. Synergy is in full swing here.

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