If you visited Powells Fromagerie and Wine Bar, you would not be able to tell that until a year ago owner Jas Powell had no experience in the hospitality game.
Decked out with large open windows, minimalist marble interiors and yes, a disco ball in its bathroom, Powells fits right into the hipster hub that is Leederville’s Electric Lane.
Ms Powell had run a grazing table business, Tapas Addict, for seven years but in January made the leap into hospitality.
“What I lack in experience, I make for in my passion for hosting and entertaining,” she said.
Through Instagram, Ms Powell was able to engage with followers from the local community who she says “weighed in on everything” from the choice of chairs to the custom design of the staff’s T-shirts.
“Now when they visit Powells, they feel (like) they are a part of our story and can say they helped pick the marble for the table that they are sitting at with their friends or family,” Ms Powell said.
“It’s made Powells feel like the bar of the people and I am so proud of the community spirit we have cultivated during our first year of operations.”
Powells Fromagerie and Wine Bar, as the name suggests, specialises in cheese and has a rotating list of fresh local and global varieties which are plated and paired with house-made crackers, charcuterie and pickled vegetables.
And with a mission to reduce waste, almost every scrap of food is put to use; leftover focaccia is crushed into breadcrumbs, cheese rind is mixed into the next batch of arancini balls, and ripe tomatoes are freshly plucked from her mum’s — or “Mumma Powell’s” — veggie patch.
But the name of the bar, Ms Powell says, is a tribute to late father who died from cancer when she was just six years old.
“During our first year of business, so many people have reached out and told me stories about how they had their first date at Powells or connected with a stranger over a conversation coaster,” she said.
“It’s these moments I am most humbled by as we celebrate our first birthday this January.”
In 2024, Powells will host of masterclasses, workshops and social-focused events.