Anyone who has worked in hospitality will tell you running a restaurant or cafe is a tough gig. Margins are small, customers are fickle and competition is fierce. Add a pandemic into the mix – including mandated closures – and it's proved near impossible for many restaurateurs.
Adam Faigen knows this better than most. For the past two decades, Adam has owned and operated several cafes and 'smart casual' restaurants in Melbourne's inner south. He's seen food trends come and go as well as the rise of food delivery giants Uber Eats and Deliveroo. But nothing could prepare him for what was to come in 2020. Undeterred, Adam and his business partner started up a new business venture: Golda, a restaurant celebrating modern Israeli food.
The restaurant, originally inspired by the cooking of his late maternal and paternal grandmothers – Sephardi and Ashkenazi respectively – quickly won admirers for its unique fusion of flavours. As Melbourne re-awakens to life after lockdowns, Adam is hoping Golda can return to its early success and help kickstart a revival in the city's dining scene.
Anyone who has worked in hospitality will tell you running a restaurant or cafe is a tough gig. Margins are small, customers are fickle and competition is fierce. Add a pandemic into the mix – including mandated closures – and it's proved near impossible for many restaurateurs.
Adam Faigen knows this better than most. For the past two decades, Adam has owned and operated several cafes and 'smart casual' restaurants in Melbourne's inner south. He's seen food trends come and go as well as the rise of food delivery giants Uber Eats and Deliveroo. But nothing could prepare him for what was to come in 2020. Undeterred, Adam and his business partner started up a new business venture: Golda, a restaurant celebrating modern Israeli food.
The restaurant, originally inspired by the cooking of his late maternal and paternal grandmothers – Sephardi and Ashkenazi respectively – quickly won admirers for its unique fusion of flavours. As Melbourne re-awakens to life after lockdowns, Adam is hoping Golda can return to its early success and help kickstart a revival in the city's dining scene.