Brazilian hospo whizz David William is about to realise a lifelong dream with his new cafe to take over the former Cooks Pantry spot in Grange.
Bora is set to open at the end of this month where Cooks Pantry, the Grange institution served the community for 16 years. The new venue is inspired by owner David William’s hospitality experience in Brazil, Sydney and Adelaide.
As a former Grange local, David had been waiting for his dream location to open up at a beachside location, and the fairytale is finally becoming a reality. “It’s pretty much a dream come true,” said David.
Bora will offer a casual brekkie menu featuring all the usual suspects of a classic Australian cafe – but a bunch of items will feature a delicious Brazilian twist. While David is keeping the menu under wraps for now, he did share a delicious menu teaser; “We are going to have coxinha,” David said. “It’s a kind of chicken croquette that Brazilian people love!”
Apart from the coxinha, you can expect smashed avocado, eggs, sandwiches, and grab-and-go options.
The cafe will be open seven days for breakfast, brunch and lunch, but summer nights will be extra special. While it’s still hot, Bora will shift to a casual bar-style offering at night, with cocktails and small bites including burgers, tacos, fish and chips, and more.
The cafe has a window out the front, which will open during the day for coffees, cocktails, and grab-and-go food.
“I’m really excited to bring a bit of the Brazilian culture to the community,” David said. “I believe it’ll be very successful in the Brazilian community because we love it! It’s a real traditional Brazilian food.”
“The majority of my focus is to get the local people coming through. As I’m Brazilian, it’s probably going to be full of Brazilians as well, which I don’t mind at all! It’d be great!”
Since November last year David and his team have given the cafe a full renovation. “We’ve pretty much changed the whole layout of the place,” he said. “We’ve built a new counter, made some changes in the kitchen, and we’ve implemented lots of new areas in the cafe, mostly in the back of house. Front of house has a similar layout, but the fit out is a bit more casual, very chill, beachy style. We’ve changed the counter as well, with new tiling, and it looks amazing – way bigger than it used to be!”
David first came to Australia around ten years ago to study English while working at the same time. His language skills weren’t quite where he wanted them to be, so he returned to Brazil for two months before coming back for another year of study. The full-time course left little time to explore the country. “Man, what is the point if I can’t explore Australia?” he said.
Not ready to return home, he applied for a three-year leadership and management course, which gave him the chance to travel and experience more of Australia. “After those three years, I decided I wanted to emigrate to Australia.” The best pathway to living in Australia turned out to be moving to Adelaide.
Before that, he had been living and working in Sydney, taking on various hospitality jobs. After moving to Adelaide, he completed three and a half years of cooking studies while gaining experience in cafés and restaurants.
“I wanted to have my own business after working in cafes and restaurants for so long,” said David. “Restaurant work became strenuous because of the late nights, and when I moved to the cafe scene I started loving hospitality again.”
“I’ve always taken in the customer service aspects from visiting cafes and restaurants around the world. I’ve taken notes for whenever I have my own place – now I have Bora!”
David said, “Starting right at the bottom means I have knowledge all around hospitality. I started 10 years ago as a kitchen hand in Sydney. I worked my way up to being a chef, then a Head Chef, which I have been for the past three years.”
“The opportunity of opening Bora means I’m finally investing in my dream!”
The venue is currently waiting for a liquor licence, which David assures us will be granted before opening Bora’s doors. Look out for Bora, the brand new cafe with a Brazilian twist opening up in a beloved Grange spot this February!
Bora Cafe
When: Opening late February 2025
Where: 6-8 Jetty Street, Grange
Hours: Monday to Friday 6am – 3pm, Saturday & Sunday 7am – 3pm & summer nights, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
For more information, visit the Bora Instagram.
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