IN FOCUS: ALL-DAY DINING

Round the clock

The teams behind Elio’s Place and Ruby Dining on running day-to-night eateries.

WORDS Laura Box

PHOTOGRAPHY Jana Langhorst

ALL-DAY DINING IS a tough nut to crack. From the cost of labour to ensuring each part of service is as good as the last, the challenges can feel overwhelming. But the peaks outweigh the troughs for two recent additions to Melbourne’s long-service hospitality milieu. Hospitality speaks to operators about how they’re taming the multi-hour business model.

After running cafés for 11 years, the restaurateurs behind Operator 25, Operator Diner, and Operator San were looking for a new challenge. Co-Owners Valerie Fong, Randy Dhamanhuri, and Chef Partner

James Cornwall (former head chef of Cumulus Inc.) came up with a new concept; one that could transition smoothly from breakfast to dinner.

Inspired by the brasseries of New York and London, the team launched Ruby Dining in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, on the corner of Queen and Little Bourke. Although rent is high in the premium, high-traffic location, so are other costs such as labour. It presents a window for operators to extend their hours to justify high leasing costs. As Dhamanhuri puts it: “you’re already paying rent for the venue, so you can see it as an opportunity to try maximising your sales”.

From ensuring high-quality service — even during quiet times — to delivering excellent food, service, and ambience in each different period, running an all-day venture isn’t without its challenges. The style of service needs to adapt to different times to keep up with changing clientele, pace, and offerings. Staff skills also need to be accounted for; who can make a good coffee in the morning, and who knows about wine and can make a killer cocktail at night?

“We chose to have one head chef oversee breakfast and one oversee dinner, so they aren’t spread too thin; [it also] helps keep the creative focus to their assigned area,” says Dhamanhuri. To ensure food preparation and ordering runs smoothly, ingredient crossover is implemented across the menus, ensuring kitchen space and produce are both utilised efficiently. The transition between menus is also supported by an additional afternoon snack service as well as dedicated prep kitchens.

On weekends, visitors can grab allday breakfast at Ruby from shokupan (Japanese milk bread) French toast with strawberries, mascarpone, maple syrup, and pistachio to Moroccan baked eggs with spiced chickpeas, coriander, fetta, za’atar and flatbread. On weekdays, breakfast runs from 7–11:30am. The lunch and dinner menus follow a similar pattern, punctured only by a reduced snack-style menu that runs during the quieter afternoon period.

Ten minutes’ walk down the road are evennewer kids on the all-day-dining block: Elio’s Place. The venue launched in August and is the Euro-inspired brainchild from the team behind Greta and Maverick, aka sibling duo Adam and Elisa Mariani.

Being known as a space that caters to anyone at any time of day means more convenience for customers.

– Elisa Mariani

Elio’s isn’t the Mariani’s first foray into all-day dining. Their weekday joint Greta was the first to implement the model, which allowed the pair to observe the dining habits of guests from morning till night. But Elio’s is delivering something different. “The location of Elio’s Place is very well suited to all-day service, it’s in the heart of Flinders Lane which has so many different customer demographics: the corporates, the students, the foodies, and the tourists,” says Adam.

“Being known as a space that caters to anyone at any time of day means more convenience for customers,” adds Elisa. “We can meet the needs of a variety of demographics and it also feeds into increased brand recognition and the possibility of a greater competitive edge.”

From 7–11:00am, Elio’s serves a European breakfast with a mix of sweet and savoury options, including Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian “scrambled” pancakes) with blueberry yoghurt, and smoked trout with gherkins, horseradish, pepper berry crème fraîche, and focaccia. “There are also graband-go sandwiches for those on the run, but we like to invite those who can, to dine in and enjoy a slow breakfast,” says Elisa.

The lunch and dinner menu runs from 12–3:00pm, and then from 5pm till late. The format encourages sharing, with guests able to select house-made pastas; cabbage skewers served with butter emulsion and Espelette pepper; raw beef with bone marrow mayonnaise and blackberries; and whole flounder with burnt lemon and bottarga.

Aperitivo and bar hours take place between lunch and dinner, with the venue offering a pared-back menu of snack-style items including house-made focaccia served with miso butter, Sydney Rock oysters, and daily chef specials. “Diners can make the experience their own,” says Elisa. “They can grab and go, drink coffee at the front bar in true European fashion, or sit down and take their time to dine.”

When it comes to staffing, Elio’s is taking a multi-faceted approach, with the team encouraged to gain experience working during different parts of the day and night. Their goal? To create a team of professionals who have skills that translate across all services. “Some may have day or night experience specifically, but with training and development, full coverage is learned,” says Adam. “Hospitality presents many daily challenges, and you never know when staff coverage is required.”

With early positive reviews already emerging, the challenging endeavour appears likely to prove lucrative for those game enough to give all-day dining a go.