Another Earl in the Making

A favourite among the city lunch crowd, Earl Canteen opened their second sandwich store this week at the other end of the CBD in Collins Place. “This is a busy little food area and it’s a part of town that people have been telling us that they’d like us to be,” explains Earl Canteen owner Simon O’Regan, who opened the first popular sandwich shop in May 2010 with his wife Jackie Middleton.

While the same menu and concept has been carried through from the original Bourke Street store – offering customers hearty gourmet salads and generous, saucy sandwiches – the new venue sees a stronger emphasis on coffee, which is supplied by Campos Coffee. “It became very obvious there was a need for good morning coffee in this part of town,” explains O’Regan. “We’re hoping to become a place for a good takeaway coffee, nice and quick.”

Like the original, Earl Canteen’s new location is a little tricky to find. It’s a short escalator ride down the bottom floor of the Collins Place complex, tucked right beneath the Sofitel Hotel.

The fit-out has been designed with the store’s corner location in mind, with the striking black-and-white chequered walls and floors and bold signage making the small store visible from a distance. Once inside, an open fridge full of ready-made sandwiches, baguettes and salads, all made fresh in the kitchen every morning. While there is no interior seating, the store is conveniently positioned next a communal dining area, so you can sit and watch the world rush by.

Should you be in the area, be sure to stop by for their famous pork belly sandwich. There’s no denying it’s the crowd favourite, having sold over six tonnes of pork belly in the past three years. And with a made-to-order sandwich taking less than four minutes to travel from the kitchen to your hungry hands, you won’t have to wait long to try it.

Earl Canteen Collins Place

45 Collins Place, Melbourne

(03) 9663 8445

Hours

Mon to Fri 7am–4pm

earlcanteen.com.au