Hive Barossa is a local spot known for soul-filled food, ethical produce, serious coffee, and handpicked homewares. Now, the team behind the cafe is expanding with a sister venue, Canteen Barossa, set to open this September inside the beautifully restored Marananga School precinct.
“It will be a nod to the school canteen,” says owner Marlo Grocke, who runs the space with husband Mark Pennington.
“Instead of just pies and sausage rolls, it’ll be a really posh pie and a really beautiful gourmet roll. It will feel very similar to Hive, with a strong focus on healthy wholefoods.”
The food will be created by Hive’s chefs Alicia Stevens and Hall Barney, alongside Jackie “Laz E”, a wholefood chef from New Zealand and a long-time friend of Marlo. “They’ll be collaborating to come up with a really special and broad menu,” she says.
The fit-out is set to be a blend of rustic barnyard and heritage charm with just the right amount of nostalgic motifs. Old school desks will be used in the space, while a giant original blackboard stretches across the back wall. A big deck wraps around the corner building, where Marlo envisions glasses of wine and lazy brunches looking out over the Barossa countryside.
“We’ll weave in fun things people will hopefully reminisce about,” she explains. “There’ll be dollar bags of lollies for the kids. That’s exactly the kind of thing we want people to say – ‘Oh, I remember that.’”
The kitchen will showcase the best of the Barossa and beyond. Expect Breaking Bread sourdough and “morning buns” (a cross between a croissant and a doughnut), local eggs from The Bucket Project, cheeses from The Barossa Valley Cheese Company, and produce from regional growers. The drinks menu will remain simple and also very local.
“We’re right next door to Jeremy at New Wave Wines, who has his own label called Evan Evans – he makes incredible wines. We’ll also have bottles from Wonderground and Mila, which are labels from our landlords, and just spectacular.
Like Hive, the shelves will be stocked with beautiful artisanal homewares, candles and gifts.
Canteen joins a growing collective of businesses inside the reimagined Marananga School, a historic site that first opened in 1879 when the town was still known as Gnadenfrei.
The old weatherboard classrooms now house Clare Falzon’s award-winning restaurant Staguni (who just snapped up Gourmet Traveller’s Best Destination Dining Award), Goldie Pottery Studio, the Gin Lab with hands-on gin-making workshops, New Wave Wines, and Mr Dahlia farm.
“The landlords – Kirsty Kingsley, Nick Radford, Renee DeSaxe and Luke Edwards – are real visionaries,” says Marlo.
“They’ve transformed the old schoolhouse into this stunning Hampton’s-style precinct. Each business is in a different classroom, and it feels like such a collaborative hub,” she says.
The Barossa has grown into a vibrant hub of wine, food, art and community. And Canteen, with its expansive views, old school charm, and Marlo – a fourth-generation Barossan – at the helm, is set to be the ultimate spring dining destination.
Bring the family and the pup, and soak up the soul of the region. Doors due to swing open September 5.
“I envisage kids running on the lawn, playing old school games. It’s a real country, fresh-food kind of place – and all set amongst fantastic other businesses.”
What: Canteen Barossa
When: Due to open September 5
Where: 457 Seppeltsfield Road, Barossa
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