Neighbourhood café Bertie’s opens in Ballina

HE HAS worked at some of Sydney’s top restaurants, including Rockpool and Bondi Icebergs, and now Tim Coleman is bringing his skills to a new café in Ballina.

Coleman and his wife Rhianne Contreras, who has worked as a food, props and interior stylist for magazines such as Vogue and Gourmet Traveller, have pooled their talents to open Bertie’s Food and Drink in Cherry Street.

Originally from the UK, the couple left to go travelling in 2009 and fell in love with Australia.

Coleman’s first job in Sydney was as a sommelier at acclaimed chef Neil Perry’s Rockpool restaurant in The Rocks.

He has also worked as a sommelier and supervisor at Icebergs and was part of the opening team for Farm and Co. at Cudgen.

The couple moved to the Northern Rivers in 2019 after they started a family and wanted more work-life balance.

The café is open from 7am to 3pm Monday to Friday, offering breakfast, coffee, freshly made salads and made-to-order deli-style sandwiches.

Highlights include a hearty focaccia with shaved Girolamo mortadella, Vanella stracciatella, green olives and pistachio.

Coleman has taken on the role of chef and will be the face of the new eatery, while Contreras designed the fit-out, which includes a wraparound bench seat with upholstered cushion backs and repurposed bar stools that have been reupholstered and powder coated.

While Byron Bay is strongly reliant on the tourist trade, the pair wanted to open a neighbourhood eatery for locals.

“Opening a cafe has always been a dream of Tim’s,” Contreras said.

“We love that Ballina hasn’t been taken over by all the high street stores and still retains the charm of a small town.

“It feels like a town where community is still key to its core and it’s supportive of the small business owner.

“There are some great new spots popping up and even as we have been in the process of opening Bertie’s there have been at least three other food businesses that have opened, which is great.”