STORY BY LARISSA DUBECKI, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

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ou could say Matthew Freeman took the tradesman’s entrance into café ownership. His early twenties saw him working in sales for a wholesale food business; a job that took him into the back end of the coffee game. “It got me down the Surf Coast and into Melbourne,” says the now-32-year-old. “I learned a lot about the industry and really fell in love with it.”

Fast-forward to 2022, and his seven-year-old FIKA café in the heart of Ballarat is a favourite hangout, attracting a steady crowd of appreciative locals – yes, that includes tradies – for its excellent coffee and sharply honed menu.

“We’re like a workingman’s café compared to what you’d call a weekend spot,” says Freeman. “FIKA is all about being simple, quick and delicious.”

The road to FIKA (the name is Swedish for “coffee break”) started with Freeman ditching sales to train as a barista at South Melbourne coffee kings St Ali. The decision to return to his hometown of Ballarat saw FIKA opening on Doveton Street in 2015. Then, as now, he chose to serve St Ali coffee beans in the café’s espresso and milk-based coffees, while Collingwood’s Proud Mary stands in for filter coffee.

“At St Ali I learned the skills behind coffee and being a good barista – the workflow, the coffee quality,” he says. “But in the way of keeping customers happy, I learned a lot talking to business owners in my previous sales job and observing their take on it. For me, it’s so much more than about simply serving a product; it’s about creating a sense of community and a way of life. I’m trying to create that sense of connection that’s really what makes us humans.”

You can take it as a given that the welcome is warm and the service as smart as the Scandi-minimalist interiors designed by Freeman himself. Kids are welcome; dogs are a common sight with their owners at the kerbside tables.

If you’re looking beyond a caffeine fix, there’s chai from Anushka in Woodend and hot chocolate by Ballarat’s Grounded Pleasures. On the food front, there’s smashed avocado, jazzed up with goats’ curd, radishes and plenty of herbs, or the tradie favourite bacon and egg roll with its credentials intact thanks to artisan Salt Kitchen bacon and a buttermilk bun. Toasties include a classic Reuben or a tuna melt bright with cornichons and mustard. Wellness crowd will warm to a macadamia chia pudding and be tempted by the cakes and pastries in the cabinet.

Freeman also owns the day-to-night eatery Johnny Alloo, less than one kilometre away, which means his hands are full indeed.

“I’m more hands-on at FIKA at the moment,” he says. “But my team at both addresses are focused on customer service. It’s all about having those small, simple interactions that can really make someone’s day.”

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