Second Brockley Deli cafe launches at Blackheath

Co-owner Zoltan Abbott arranges cakes and sweets. Pic: Caitlin Burns

The Brockley Deli has opened its second location in Blackheath, joining the Conservatoire in a fusion of art and food.

“I have a music background and it’s lovely to be inside a place like this,” The Brockley Deli co-owner Zoltan Abbott, 44, said. “I can see the vision there is to have a very thriving arts centre to rival places like the Southbank. So it’s something very exciting to be a part of it.”

The Brockley Deli at the Conservatoire opened earlier this month, but it wasn’t something Abbott had planned on. He said that The Brockley Deli was informed about the application process by the CEO of the Conservatoire, who lives in the local area.

After filing the application and making a formal presentation to the Conservatoire, The Brockley Deli was accepted for the location.

“It wasn’t planned,” Abbott said, “but when offered it, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.”

Customers are already talking about the locally sourced treats, quality coffee and organic juices available at the café. The most popular being salted caramel brownies.

“It’s such a wonderful space, and the food is amazing. The outdoor space is beautiful,” Blackheath customer Adrienne Burris said. “My favourites are the brownies and flat white. It’s a nice way to treat myself.”

Abbott said what makes both The Brockley Deli locations stand out is the dedication to quality—both for food and customer service.

“It’s about good ingredients that are locally sourced, where we can. I think that Blackheath residents appreciate of that approach,” Abbott said. “It’s not the exact same as [Brockley], they’re a bit different and that’s fine.”

The main differences between the two locations, Abbott said, are the non-café offerings. At the Brockley location, the deli not only serves coffee and sweets, but it also has a range of grocery items as well—including cold cuts and cheeses.

However, the Blackheath location is mainly café items, with a few shelves of groceries. In exchange, there is a wider variety of cakes, sweets and prepared food, which are made in the on-site kitchen.

“One of the identifiable things, is it’s a nice relaxing environment,” Abbott said. “We pride ourselves on good customer service.”

Abbott said the connection with customers is what he thinks differentiates them from the competition.

The deli welcomes customer feedback, so that it can improve services. He said staff will even go so far as to make coffees to the specifications of customers, including adjusting the milk volume, increasing or decreasing the temperature and replacing coffees if the customer is not satisfied.

“I feel we were very lucky to get that opportunity,” Abbott said. “It’s also a very exciting place, there’s lots of new developments happening there.”

The new location, located at 19-21 Lee Road, is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with late openings on Thursday and Saturday mornings.