Women invade The Hardware Store

Women are no longer uncommon sights in hardware stores, that’s true, but would you expect to see a hardware store overrun by women? Last week I entered The Hardware Store on Brighton Road in Scarborough, and found it full of people but only three men.

The Hardware Store © The Ponder Room

Entering The Hardware Store I was confronted with the usual paint tins, garage items, wheelbarrows, some fun quotes and the likes of Men at Work, Sting, and INXS playing.

The Hardware Store © The Ponder Room

I was also confronted with food that totally sold me, and all the other female customers evidently.

The Hardware Store © The Ponder Room

I opted for the Bun Haters Veggie Burger. At $16 it included fresh shaved asparagus, rocket, a curry mayo with capers, the sweetest beetroot relish and one of the best veggie patties I’ve ever eaten … that’s right … ever! Somehow the chickpea and mushroom pattie managed to be soft, moist and crunchy. The absence of a bun meant you tasted every ingredient on the plate. Instead of racing down a burger I found myself slowing down to enjoy every bite. Quite simply it was delicious.

The Hardware Store © The Ponder Room

Other meals included:

Hardware Hot Dog

Zucchini and Sweet Corn fritters

Quinoa salad

Crab brioche with blue swimmer crab

Pulled pork sandwich

A range of muffins and cakes

Cold compressed juices were served in jars

The Hardware Store © The Ponder Room

Perth is often derided for poor service, but the opposite can be said for The Hardware Store. Dressed in a flannie, shorts and looking like a member of Tap Dogs, the waitresses presented meals promptly and stopped for a friendly chat. I was even given my own jug of water so I didn’t have to go to the central wait station …

cont …

Lingering a lot longer than intended I pondered:

Everything blended so perfectly that it made it hard to believe they had only been in operation for two months.
The table of four ladies next to me summed it up best saying ‘it’s such good quality and so reasonably priced.’
If you haven’t been to Brighton Road for a while it’s worth a visit, three new food outlets have moved in.

I thoroughly recommend The Hardware Store and will definitely go back to try other items on the menu, if I can tear myself away from the Bun Haters Burger that is. Perhaps this is one hardware store we females should keep to ourselves.