Prospect Road has a brand-new feel
A wave of new openings along Prospect Road is making Adelaide’s inner-north a buzzing destination for community and balanced lifestyles.
He Said She Said owner Sam Said knows two things are important to a great local café: strong coffee and a stronger community.
It’s already made He Said She Said a go-to destination for its original Hyde Park neighbourhood, but now Said’s putting the finishing touches on a new northern branch, set to open in around six weeks as part of the new apartment complex The Harrington at 71 Prospect Road.
“He Said She Said, it’s a family-run cafe, we’ve got a genuine love for good coffee and good food — premium all-day brunch, fresh pastries, seasonal dishes as well,” Sam says.
Said was already familiar with the Prospect area, frequently popping over for dinner at the many food and wine hotspots that have sprouted up along Prospect Road in recent years.
He could see that its bustling crowds, evolving demographics, and taste for great hospitality meant the strip had a big future — and a growing community that his team can’t wait to meet.
“We get a lot of families, a lot of couples, a lot of locals,” he says. “But to be honest, they don’t just come for what’s in a cup of coffee or what’s on a plate. They come for how we make them feel, and I guess that’s what’s important; we’ve had some regulars that have pretty much been coming from the day we opened — pretty much every day, not a day missed.
“They feel welcome, remembered. We know their coffee orders, we know what they like to eat.”
Sam and his team will be ready to meet their new Prospect regulars — and memorise their orders — when He Said She Said Prospect opens later this year.
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Said and his team will have plenty of new neighbours. Just a stone’s throw away, Leah Wells and her team at R3 Reform are getting ready to launch their own brand-new studio in The Harrington. It’s the second location for the independent Pilates studio, and they’ve been waiting a long time for the right moment to open doors and activate cores in Prospect.
“We opened our first studio about three and a half years ago, and we’ve always wanted to open a second one in Prospect,” Wells says. “We had our eye on that suburb for a while, and found this perfect spot.”
The new ground-floor studio at 71 Prospect Road will offer beginner and intermediate classes, as well as a stretching class and a recovery room fitted out with a cold plunge and infrared sauna.
“It’s suitable for everyone,” Wells says. “We have quite a community-based atmosphere, and everyone feels welcome, so for us Prospect is a growing area and it’s very community-based.
“We’re honestly really excited to open our second studio there and bring that type of energy into the suburb — that’s sort of the main reason why we wanted to go.”
With plenty of underground carparking and new hospo options perfect for a post-sweat caffeine hit, Wells and her co-founders will be ready to welcome their new Prospect family from mid-July — and start putting them through their paces.
A workout might be the healthiest way to start a day, but just down the road at the newly redeveloped 85 Prospect Road the team at St Louis dessert bar know a little indulgence is often the best way to end the night.
Since opening last month, the latest expansion for the St Louis family has already tapped into Prospect Road’s growing night life.
“It’s a growing street, it’s become pretty much the food hub of Adelaide, you know?” St Louis’ Jared Chahoud says. “You’ve got the best Asian place, the best Italian places, the best burgers. We thought there was no better place to put the best dessert in Adelaide, into such a thriving and fruitful community.”
It’s also good timing for St Louis, with a warm, contemporary rebrand and updated menu range launching just in time for this latest addition.
“Prospect has been the stepping stone for St Louis to enter into a whole new world,” he says.
“There’s nothing better than having that big meal at Sunny’s across the road, walking straight over, and it’s welcoming , it’s warm, it’s inviting. You can have that scoop of ice cream and call it a day.”
St Louis has plenty on offer to tempt the after-dinner sweet tooths, but Chahoud says their new spot is also a perfect meeting place for those who want get out of the house, but still feel right at home.
“They come after dinner wrapped up in jumpers and sweaters and walk in, they order their oat lattes, their hot chocolates, share a churros for two, and they just chat the whole night away from 7pm to close,” he says. “It’s such a good place to chat and talk — you can be there for hours, and we love that.”
Like the rest of Prospect Road, it’s a destination with plenty of new reasons to visit — you might never want to leave.
He Said She Said
71 Prospect Road, opening soon.
R3 Reform
71 Prospect Road, opening mid-July.
St Louis
85 Prospect Road, open now.
