Mr Tulk Cafe at State Library to close over tender outcome

Mr Tulk Cafe at the State Library. (Credit: Nicole Manolitsas)

After nine successful years of operating, Mr Tulk Cafe will be forced to close in mid-May after losing a tender process. Located on Swanston Street and adjoined to Melbourne’s iconic State Library, the indie cafe is a celebrated community hub for academics, students and tourists.

Mr Tulk is owned by a married couple, Michael and Maria Togias, who bought the business in 2017.

Michael Togias explained that library staff and customers make up around 25 per cent of his business, but RMIT is a much larger percentage, at up to 30-40 per cent. He said that, as well as these customers, he sees many tourists and passers-by come through the cafe, welcoming a mix of people with different stories and backgrounds.

Despite it being a popular space for locals and travellers alike, the cafe is facing imminent closure due to losing a commercial tender process.

Tendering is when an organisation invites businesses to compete for a contract by submitting proposals, showing how they would provide their service. Then, the organisation responds by evaluating the proposals and selects the best offer from the businesses that applied—awarding them the contract to operate.

Michael Togias is devastated that they lost the tender, saying that it was a long and difficult process. 

The Library Board of Victoria—which governs the State Library—ran the tender and is therefore responsible for the library’s operations and leases, including Mr Tulk Cafe which it is connected to.

“What they did is they took it to a tender, and they awarded it to the event group upstairs,” said Togias.

He explained that a year ago, a major hospitality company titled The Big Group won the tender for the upstairs space in the State Library.

Togias was told by the architects that the event group would win the tender in the downstairs area of the library too—the cafe. “They needed our kitchen, because our kitchen's bigger than theirs,” he said.

This news is especially upsetting given the nature of the cafe and its connection to Victoria’s State Library.

The name, Mr Tulk, pays respect to Augustus Henry Tulk—who was the State Library’s first ever librarian and worked to build success in Victoria’s libraries and art galleries.

Paul, who is one of Mr Tulk’s 40 staff members forced to seek new work, said that the business was “really surprised” about news of the closure, especially since it is a popular cafe that sees many regulars.

“It will be hard to find a better place than this because it’s so close to the uni,” he said.

Paul explained that the cafe also provides another layer of culture to the State Library since it’s “an old-school cafe” that matches the library’s interior and aesthetic. 

Togias called his cafe “a little haven” that will be lost when the space eventually gets turned into an area for hosting events.

“We get administration staff from RMIT, we get lecturers, we get students. It's a little break for them—during the day they do meetings here and they have study groups.

“It's spacious, and they can always find a table during the day, even if it's busy—we'll find a space for them. If they turn it into an event space, you won't be able to just walk up and say, 'Hey, can we get a table to study?’, which is a shame,” said the co-owner.

The staff and owners of Mr Tulk are appreciative of the support that customers have shown to try to save the cafe. A petition has been made in an effort to protest against the cafe being turned into an exclusive event space, with over 6,000 signatures.

To sign the petition and help the cafe continue operating, visit this link.