‘We saved you a seat at Poppy Cafe’ |21 April 2022

Ms Hoareau addressing the guests during Tuesday’s opening of the Poppy Cafe (Photos: Thomas Meriton)

For over 75 years, the Tobruk Club in Victoria has been an iconic place for the most part linked to the ex-servicemen who fought in the World Wars, especially in the northern part of Africa, in particular the deep-water harbour of Tobruk in Libya.

Built in 1945 in memory of the Tobruk club veterans – from 1914-1958 – by the Public Work Department (PWD) with funds donated by the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Servicemen League (RCEL), the place was last renovated in 2018 by Herman Maria Pty Ltd.

After being used for various activities, including as a hair salon and child minding business, young local entrepreneur Helga Hoareau has decided to give the place a new essence, bringing it closer to its initial purpose with a new café to help bring back the ‘esprit de corps’ and giving back to the surviving ex-servicemen their place of reminiscence, while offering the general public the ideal spot in town to wind down to a beer, a cuppa, or even a freshly cooked meal with the opportunity to learn more on the wars, through various living exhibits which have stood the test of time.

Baptised the Poppy Cafe, the new venture is a dream that came true following an uphill battle. At one point it was about to remain a dream if it was not for Ms Hoareau’s willpower and perseverance.

The soft opening of Poppy Cafe took place last Tuesday in the presence of family members and friends of the owner, a crowd which she described as priceless in venturing towards the project.

The idea of setting a café struck Ms Hoareau during the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic when the lockdown was in full swing and people being confined to their homes.

At the time may people were discovering their hidden talents and one of Ms Hoareau’s aunties was deep into baking and jokingly she once said it would have been nice to have a café to sell her cakes.

Without realising, she had inspired her niece to pursue one of her most challenging projects ever.

From that moment, Ms Hoareau started to put pen to paper, coming up with various ideas of how to pursue her dream.

After making a step forward in her journey, she then made two steps backwards when the Covid-19 and economic situations worsened, increasing the exchange rates just when she was about to make payments in foreign exchange for her furniture.

The moment she saw the US dollar rose to R17 from R14, Ms Hoareau said she, at one point, had mixed-feelings about going ahead with the project, but decided to pursue with the support and encouragement of her mother.

The next hurdle was to convince the chairperson of the local ex-servicemen association to believe in her idea and get his blessing for the location and project.

After getting those out of the way, the next challenge for Ms Hoareau was the construction and engineering work to transform the place.

Backed by a group of dedicated family members and friends, the young entrepreneur took the bull by the horns and endured the challenges, transforming the place into what it is today, despite all the difficulties.

She is now well versed into masonry, plumbing and other trades due to her active involvement in the project.

Other than being an eating and drinking place, the Poppy Cafe is also a museum of some sort as it features on display various objects, including uniforms and army utensils used by the ex-servicemen during the wars.

According to her, the place is still work in progress as she wishes to turn it into a living museum, dedicated to the local war veterans.

Prior to its soft opening, the Poppy Cafe received the blessing of Anglican clergyman Reverend Bryan Volcère who himself shared a story or two about his attachment to the club during his younger days.

Still in the spirit of remembrance, Ms Hoareau explained that the name Poppy was chosen based on the fact that poppies are used to remember those who gave their lives in the battles and because they grew on the battlefields after World War One ended as described in the famous World War One poem ‘In Flanders Fields’.

As for the menu, the essence of war can be recognised in the names of the dishes which include Veteran’s Breakfast, Terrain, Compass and Fortress ‒ all day bites ‒ as well as Rommel Salad, Battalion Salad, Benghazi Salad, Suez Cheese fries, Tripoli Fish Fingers and Bunker Burgers ‒ all unique dishes.

For a change of atmosphere, it is highly recommendable to pop into the ‘Poppy Café’ for a new experience.

Roland Duval