Ashul Thapa represents so many young Canberrans taking on hospitality business ownership despite industry hardships. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Lil Milkbar in Mawson has changed hands, and new owner Ashul Thapa is bringing a refreshed menu and new outlook to the popular neighbourhood cafe.
Taking on the cafe in September 2024, Ashul is following in the footsteps of Lil Milkbar founder, Linh Tran who posted an emotional video on Facebook thanking the community for its support throughout the five years she ran the business.
The cafe is Ashul’s first venture into business ownership, a move she decided to undertake after seven years in hospitality, keen to try out her own ideas on her own terms.
The tight-knit community of Mawson was a big drawcard and one of the primary reasons she decided to take a shot on the existing business. She’s felt the support of the community from day one.
“There are so many good people in this suburb and they’ve been very supportive since I took over the cafe. They help me fix things around here and I love getting to know everyone.”
Lil Milkbar is well supported by the Mawson community. Photo: Tenele Conway.
That community support is getting Ashul through the steep learning curve of owning her first business, a curve that has come with some unexpected costs and challenges.
“Because it was my first time doing business, I didn’t realise that behind the scenes there were so many other costs,” Ashul says.
“BAS [business activity statements] is so much; we have to come up with long service leave, the casual pay rates are increasing, we’re in an older building and electricity costs are very high, and we even have to pay for the music we play.”
Despite the challenges, Ashul says she’s not deterred; she has the energy for it at this point in her life and is inspired by all the young entrepreneurs in Canberra.
As a part of the mission to make the business her own, Ashul has refined her menu to work for her cooking style and deliver on her vision for breakfast classics with broad appeal.
Ashul cooks all the food at Lil Milkbar. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Impressively, Ashul does all the cooking in the cafe – and her lifetime of experience in the kitchen shows.
“I started cooking when I was two or three back in Nepal. I’ve always cooked; it’s just what we do.”
Her regular customers love her classic eggs benny and apple bircher bowl served with kiwifruit, berries, macadamia and cinnamon.
Ashul says she has also removed many of the Vietnamese dishes – Linh’s specialities – from the menu. But she’s kept the popular Banh Mi-style rolls and added momos from her Nepalese background, a dish Ashul says is growing in popularity.
She also plans on expanding her salad range as the weather warms up, and her specials board, which currently has winter dishes such as chicken noodle soup and pumpkin soup, adds seasonal variety to the menu of classics.
On my recent visit, I broke all my rules about not eating avocado in winter, ordered her ‘Little Avocado’ dish and discovered Ashul has the magic touch in sourcing a perfectly ripe avocado during a Canberra winter.
Paired with cherry tomatoes, sumac, chevre, parsley, lemon, a slice of sourdough and perfectly seasoned with flaked salt, it’s a wonderfully balanced dish with pops of flavour and surprise rarely found in the generic avocado on toast found in many cafes.
Mawson is just one of those suburbs that always endures in Canberra, avoiding the periodic lulls and slow resurgences experienced by others around the region. Ashul’s new take on Lil Milkbar is a wonderful addition that will continue to tie the community together.
Lil Milkbar is open seven days a week at 9B/22 Mawson Place, Mawson.
