Local Residential

Living Local: Karla

September 2024

4MIN READ

Karla has lived and worked around the world – born, in the Philippines, she worked in London and Singapore, not to mention other neighbourhoods around Melbourne. “But I’ve never found anywhere like Kensington,” she says.

Karla manages Fruits of Passion Café, on Bellair Street, opposite Kensington train station. She has worked here for, at last count, four years, and in the process, has fallen in love with the neighbourhood. So much so that, just over a year ago, she, her husband (who is Indonesian-Australian) and their three children made Kensington their home.

Living here only deepened the connection. “The people here are really welcoming,” she says, “and it feels really safe. I love the people here. If it wasn’t for the people, I wouldn’t have stayed this long or moved here. I visit cafes in other parts of Melbourne, including in the inner-city, and I’ve never found an atmosphere like this.”

Kensington’s charm extends to its openness to people from diverse backgrounds, to the neighbourhood’s multicultural canvas. Apart from long-standing groups like the Coptic community who attend church high atop the Kensington Hill, or the burgeoning communities from the Horn of Africa, Karla’s neighbours are from Taiwan, Korea and elsewhere.

“I have worked in different areas in Melbourne and in the CBD, but nothing beats the locals here. They welcome diverse culture, and they don’t have any prejudice if you’re from somewhere else. It’s a multicultural neighbourhood in the best way – people don’t care where you’re from.”The faces that walk in the café door reflect that diversity, from the tradies queueing outside for an early morning coffee to the families that come for breakfast before school, or the mums and dads who come for lunch later in the day. Even behind the counter, diversity reigns, with staff from Korean, Japanese and El Salvadorean backgrounds. The menu, too, is like an ode to the neighbourhood’s diversity, from Fruits of Passion’s legendary Eggs Benedict to dishes from Portugal, India and Japan.

There are other reasons why Karla fits right in to Kensington – her regular customers marvel at Karla’s ability to remember everyone’s name, including the children, even the family dog. But Karla says that it’s not just her: “Neighbours here always greet you. They want to know your name and they remember your name. It’s very neighbourly. It’s a community, and you feel the care for each other. Sometimes I even babysit for our customers.

“In Kensington. I feel like I’m part of a family.”

Karla’s and her family’s life now revolves around living here and, as Karla sees it, there is something for everyone: “There are four train stations so you can go anywhere. If you are a coffee drinker there are several cafes for you to choose from. There is great food. And there is a big park if you are into sports and the new recreation centre with pool will be finished soon.”

Karla, who loves nothing better than to walk her dog down through JJ Holland Park, also loves how people put down roots here, how local loyalties run deep. “Eighty per cent of our customers are local. We have very loyal customers. That’s what’s Kensington is like. Even customers who move out of Kensington, they always come back. They miss Kensington. They miss us.”

And whenever visitors arrive from elsewhere, they’re intrigued by a neighbourhood they had never before explored. “Others from outside Kensington come here from as far away as Caroline Springs. They hear about us through word of mouth or social media. All of them love what they find.”

By putting down her own roots in Kensington, Karla has helped the café to itself become a hub of community life, at once microcosm of the neighbourhood and a reflection of Kensington’s warmly welcoming personality. And almost as legendary as the café’s eggs benedict here are the messages Karla writes on the takeaway bags – many Kensington locals have stories of Karla’s pearls of wisdom brightening their day.

For Karla, it works both ways: “I feel very lucky to have found Kensington, where the people are so lovely and kind.”