March 17, 2021
For 14 years Alley Tunes in Hawthorne have sold records and coffees in the heart of Glenferrie station to university staff, students and train goers.
“This is what we love, we love music, we love records”, said co-owner and Manager Max Lebras.
As you walk down Glenferrie road, Alley Tunes’ atmosphere radiates through the strip attracting people of all ages and walks of life.
Customers can purchase their coffee through the front window and then browse through the thousands of records whilst music plays throughout.
“It’s just good music and good coffee,” said first year university student Jasmin Iliopoulos.
Owners Max Le Bras and Fabrice Lemoyne’s passion for music enticed them to turn an old 1994 record store into the major coffee stop for Swinburne university students.
Relaunching the business as both a café and record store with the same name in 2007 was a key strategy for the co-owners.
“We knew the station and the university were right there, so we bought it and if in three years’ time the records were still not doing well, we could fully transform it into a café”, said Le Bras.
With record sales beginning to boost in the 2010’s Le Bras said he knew the café may no longer be the major source of income.
“Every year we saw an increase of enthusiasm from people and an increase of sales and release of records as they gradually came back into trend”, he said.
Iliopoulos and her friend Lucy Bassed frequent the café multiple times each week and have been since year 12.
“We were both coming here before we started university, my sister introduced me to it, I would come here and hang out with her and her friends during lunch”, said Bassed.
Le Bras says he has his loyal customers to thank for making it through last year’s tough Melbourne lockdowns.
“We have a strong customer base, a strong following, that helped among other things,” he said.
With most of Swinburne’s students studying a ‘blended mode’ with half online and half on campus Le Bras says every day feels slow.
“We are operating as if students are on their uni breaks, now every day is like a quiet day during a normal year.”
Steve Williams of the Glenferrie Trader’s Association says businesses along the street have been hugely affected by students being off campus.
“We have missed the staff and we have missed the university student’s big time,” he said.
“We are noticing that students are missing, it’s good to see them back on the street but not in the same numbers they were in.”
Le Bras says he is fortunate to have had two businesses in one, “The records kept us afloat more than the café, people bought a lot of records in between those times.”
During the first stage four lockdown early 2020 Alley Tunes among other cafes closed completely.
During which Le Bras and Lemoyne put over 1000 records online.
“We always do a little bit online, but it was a lot more during lockdown”, he said.
Once restrictions eased Alley Tunes was able to open for takeaway only which he said led to limited customers.
Fast forward a year later and Alley Tunes is serving less than half of the customers it was early March 2020.
“In 2020 there were 15,000 people on campus, we were so busy this time last year I wouldn’t have been able to sit down and have this chat with you”, said Le Bras.
“We were under the pump, you could hear the coffee machine going constantly, we had a huge line of people and everyone it seemed like constantly walking past.”
Le Bras said he has learnt to embrace the new normal, “We just have to appreciate the quieter days and the slow pace, there’s a positive side to everything.”
Alley Tunes has proved to be a positive case when many other businesses haven’t come out the other side of COVID-19 so well.
“Some businesses have been doing really well, but it’s been hard for all of them”, said Williams.
After fourteen years Le Bras and Lemoyne took the downtime during lockdowns to refurbish the café by painting inside, buying new furniture and decorating the outdoor stools.
“We gave it new life, so we had something to be excited about when we came back to work”, he said.
Customers like Iliopoulos frequent the spot for its unique atmosphere, “It’s a whole culture, coming here and hanging out with people, I really like the whole store”, she said.
“The music keeps us coming back, the people that are here, the workers are so kind.”
With less students on campus Le Bras says he relies on their normal customer base to keep them thriving.
“We see the same people that come every day and order two or three coffees, it’s them that make us survive.”
“We’re now 14 years in and it’s still a record store and a café, we expect within the next two years to be running business as usual.”
Jennifer Pittorino 