Once home to a cafe that served as a haven for Holocaust refugees, this building in the heart of Acland St has a history as rich as the cakes it once sold.
A building that once served as as a safe meeting place for thousands of Melbourne’s Holocaust survivors is on the market for the first time in 45 years.
For years, 99 Acland St, which was once home to the popular coffee spot Scheherazade Restaurant Coffee Lounge — started by Avram and Masha Zeleznikow in 1958 — served up eastern European Jewish comfort foods and desserts, all from traditional family recipes.
Open for 50 years, the building, the business and the people who occupied it were an inspiration for a book, written by Arnold Zable, in 2001, immortalising the spirit and comfort Cafe Scheherazade exuded.
Mr Zable told Leader the restaurant was “more than just a popular eatery”.
“It really was a place for young, single men to come and have a home cooked meals, and to talk,” Mr Zable said.
“I knew the owners since I was a child. They were among my mentors.”
Mr Zable at first decided to write an article about the cafe, on its 35th birthday in 1993, but knew the story was destined for more.
Read the article by Gemma Scerri in the Herald Sun.