Annmarie Sloane is bringing a wealth of experience and a large slice of her Maltese heritage to the refurbishment of the Gatehouse Cafe in the Ballarat General Cemetery.
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The heritage Gatehouse was built in 1908 to serve the patrons of Ballarat's main graveyard, and is an example of Federation and Queen Anne styles. In recent years it has been leased as a flower shop and cafe, and Ms Sloan is hoping to bring her own style to the business.
Describing herself as 'Goth and vintage-inspired', Ms Sloane opened her cafe on World Goth Day and hopes the date is auspicious. She says her friendship with the previous owner of the business led her to taking the step of opening the cafe.
As Lilith Nirvana, Ms Sloane has the skills of a DJ, photographer and fashion stylist in her portfolio, as well as having her cultural heritage to draw upon.
"It's a real melting pot for me," says Ms Sloane.
"We've got these food flavours with the Maltese pastizzi, there's going to be live music - we've got acoustic performances from Sarah Eida and local musician Matt Malone upstairs this Heritage Weekend - and I just love this amazing building.
"When the chance came up I had to take it, and then add my own flourish to the building."
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