Great food and coffee at The Merchant Benalla

“The community has been really welcoming,” Mr Picone said.

“Having existing businesses, what we’ve learnt is you’ve got to understand what the people in a town want.

“Since opening, we’ve made some changes and listened to the feedback and it’s been going really good.”

Mr Picone said the popular items so far had been coffee, breakfasts — particularly the homemade hash browns — and the falafel bowl.

“The key is using fresh produce and making everything in-house,” he said.

“The team in the kitchen have been awesome at not just making a menu, but also really working to cook great food.

“A lot of times, it might be easier to buy the product in, but that doesn’t necessarily always translate to being good enough.

“I’ve just been really lucky with a great team in the kitchen that have really embraced our style of cooking.”

The Merchant offers options for different dietary needs.

“We’re aware that there are gluten-free people. I don’t eat much gluten. It doesn’t agree with me,” Mr Picone said.

“We’ve got a range of vegetarian dishes. We don’t always have a vegan dish as such, but there are things that we can accommodate and make for people who are vegan or have different dietary requirements.”

While the food is excellent, The Merchant’s speciality is coffee and you will find a range of good quality options to drink in-store or take away.

“We also sell whole beans or ground coffee to order for whatever type of brewing that you do at home.” Mr Picone said.

“We’ve got a range of different blends. Our main blend that we use here is our House Party and if you come and order a latte, that’s what you’re going to get.

“We run a second grind as well, so we’ll rotate through our other blends or single-origin coffees.

“We cater for people with Nespresso pod machines and we’ve got a range of drip filter coffee bags.

“So if you’re into camping and you’re looking for a good brew in the bush, these things are awesome. You just take them, they hang over your cup and you pour some hot water over it. So, yeah, it’s more than just coffee and coffee beans.

“And we have different roast styles. So we’ve got a darker roast for a more robust flavour and we’ve got some smoother options where they’re not roasted as long.”

With summer just around the corner, The Merchant recently opened its courtyard.

“We’ve got big picnic tables out there and some umbrellas. And I’ve just had all my plants delivered, so it’s a bit greener inside,” Mr Picone said.

The Merchant Benalla, at 28 Bridge St East, is open seven days a week from 7am to 3pm.

Find out more on Facebook @TheMerchantBenalla.