Hospo with Heart

THE TEAM AT EAST END CELLARS EXPLAINS THEIR PHILANTHROPIC ETHOS

East End Cellars has always found ways to raise awareness and champion causes that are close to our heart and resonate with the local community.

Our retail location is in the centre of a large residential precinct, close to the parklands and proximity to Hutt Street, which has highlighted many of the community needs and issues of the CBD.

Our greatest achievement over the past five years has been our collaboration with Hutt St Centre through our Soup Kitchens.

Margie Andrewartha and Simon Bryant created the concept of the Soup Kitchen which involved local chefs, who provide their talent and time free of charge, to produce soups for one day.

Maggie Beer, Simon Bryant and Duncan Welgemoed are just a few of our very talented chef community who regularly contribute.

General public and business communities alike purchase a soup for themselves to enjoy at $20 a serve, which then translates to meals and specialised services for the Hutt St Centre. Our business communities are invited to serve and support on the day and those that were unable, donated goods for a silent auction. This runs every

Thursday over six weeks during winter and last year we raised a staggering $50,000. This would not have been possible without our local public support and the very generous contributions of local businesses and philanthropic foundations. This year we have also partnered with Catherine House to do a 50/50 split with funds raised to go towards both Catherine House and Hutt St Centre.

Street events are very important in our community strategy, we are the ‘Festival State’, and our fortunate geographic proximity means we are able to seamlessly blend and support the states offerings, whilst developing some of our own. The South Australian consumer is very receptive to this concept and we host several street parties annually. These events are coordinated by East End Cellars and bring all five vendors on Vardon Ave together to create a truly unique experience. Michael Andrewartha takes on the responsibly as licensee of the whole street, meaning that on our street party nights you can buy a whisky from Nola and drink it inside East End Cellars or purchase a toastie from EEC and eat it with a cocktail in hand inside Cheeky Flamingo. These street events are a great collaboration of all vendors and provide a great economic impact for not only the Vardon traders but the whole area, promoting a very cohesive business precinct.

Our Melbourne Cup on Vardon Avenue has sold out for the last five years, with capacity reached at 450 patrons this year, enjoying the street’s atmosphere. This also allows a unique opportunity to promote charitable causes and raise funds which we have done every Melbourne Cup with Prostate Cancer Foundation, Palliative Care Ponies and Beyond Blue.

Our parade is known for its finale where “Gentleman” characters and Michael himself, walk the last catwalk in a bid to ‘drop your dacks for Prostate Cancer’.

As part of these events, we raise local customer awareness of the needs of South Australians less fortunate than ourselves or highlight the constant challenges in our local and wider community at large. It also provides opportunity for the smaller emerging producers to get some much-needed exposure in this difficult business climate.

East End Cellars are constantly looking for ways to encourage, support and highlight local communities, their needs and adding to the local residents of Adelaide and SA as a whole.