Graveyard cafe gets new life

A FIXTURE of the Ballarat New Cemetery is set to be rebranded following a change in management.

Owner of the Gatehouse Ballarat, Annmarie Sloane, has operated the cafe for four years and said it’s time to step down following COVID fatigue and rising business costs.

Employee Shelley Tasker will take over management of the cafe, which will be rebranded as the Botanical House Ballarat.

Ms Tasker said Gatehouse’s character and values of the will remain.

“It’ll be a very safe transition for our clients,” she said. “Many of them are creatures of habit so having that continuity and consistency is really important for our community.

“It’ll be a more natural botanical theme which ties into this landscape and place as the original botanical cemetery of Australia.

“There’ll still be that death practice and culture with what Annmarie brought but with more of an educational front as opposed to something more confronting.”

Ms Sloane moved to Ballarat from Melbourne to take over the venue in mid-2019.

With vintage, Gothic-Victorian and death-inspired memorabilia dotted about the cafe, Ms Sloane said it’s been a reflection of her persona since she took over.

“I’m not just goth, I’m vintage with a rock‘n’roll background and Maltese by descent. Most of the aesthetic you see here has a story or sentimental value,” he said.

“I had the postcards on the wall in my share house in the 90s. There’s a painting from a Melbourne-based artist friend. Some of the religious iconography belonged to family members and friends.

“The fundamental ethos of the Gatehouse Ballarat is about community and supporting each other and providing a space where people would feel safe.”

Ms Sloane will continue to run the venue’s social media platforms and upstairs exhibition space.