Batley’s Cafe

Once a week

Manx and I would go to Batley’s Cafe

where burgers used to cost $5.50

and came with fried egg,

beetroot and tomato sauce.

Chips cost a few dollars extra

and were smothered in salt

before being wrapped in wax paper.

The cafe was called Batley’s

after the first owner

who built it in the 1950s

out of hardwood timber.

Mr Batley painted it vivid blue

because he reckoned it reflected

the colour of the sky.

A few months ago,

his grandson hired Mr Lloyd-Davis

to sell it.

The new owners

renamed it Lake Road Espresso Bar,

took out the old fryers

and replaced them with a charcoal grill.

Now the lamb burger

comes with tzatziki and salad

and costs $15 to eat in.

Chips cost twice as much

for half as many.

Manx and I haven’t eaten there since.

The cafe is closed Monday and Tuesday

because everyone returns to the city –

or so the new owners think.

What would they know?

They only visit on the weekend

to check on the locals

left to run the place

for minimum wages.

The owners

spend their day

sipping an espresso,

talking on their phones

and watching the exotic wildlife

of old fishermen

wandering home from the lake.