Ashley Schofield and Gavin Bellinger go way back and have been talking about great business ideas since high school. As they grew older, the childhood friends weren’t sure exactly what they wanted to do. Like many boys in their late teens, they thought it would be fun to incorporate a bar, but they knew that they wanted it to have another aspect as well. In the end, they concluded that they would open a place that was cool enough that they themselves would want to spend time there with their friends.
Because things don’t always happen the way we expect them to, Gav entered the sales and marketing sector where he stayed for quite some time, before getting into city planning. At the same time, Ash started a career at Five Senses coffee. First he worked as a delivery driver (as everyone else did in those early days), and then he moved around a bit, until finally settling in the Technical Department as the Workshop Manager.
When the guys felt that they were finally ready to start working for themselves, they started looking for a place with the potential for a liquor license. They also both appreciated the café vibe, and with Ash’s coffee background, they decided on a standard that they felt was of a high enough calibre to reinvigorate Subiaco and appeal to mature locals. Soon after, Double Double Small Bar opened its doors.
For non-sporting enthusiasts, the definition of a ‘double-double’ is the acquiring of double figures in two of five statistical categories in a game of basketball.
The most common combination is points/rebounds, but can also include assists, steals and blocked shots. In other words, a player excels in more than one area, putting that player in class above his peers.
The food at Double Double is American-style deli. Breakfast is on offer six days a week and consists of brioche French toast or eggs with pork belly. During lunch, you’ll find meatball subs with seasoned fries or a chorizo hotdog. For the evening, it’s smallgoods such as nuts, olives and liver parfait, to name just a few.
The coffee at Double Double is creamy and rich through milk, while it’s super balanced and caramel-y as a black. Their Synesso Hydra is aptly positioned on the bar and coffee is used in a versatile fashion as either an obvious choice for a morning beverage, or an ingredient in a handful of cocktails.
If you still need them, here are a few more reasons to check out Double Double:
- The cool, yet intimate, setting highlights a ’who’s who’ of Perth’s best street artists.
- Spirits are ‘left of centre’, meaning that first pour is up and to the left of your average pub.
- There’s free wifi.
- It’s soon to be open til midnight (except Mondays.)
- There’s a cool list of rotating drink specials, beers on tap and an ever-expanding wine list.
- Long Island High Tea ‘a little something just for ladies’
- They’re extending the liquor license and al fresco — just in time for summer!
- The space is available to rent out for events.
Double Double is well worth a visit. It’s a chilled-out spot that definitely excels in more than one hospitable area. If you’re feeling chatty, Ash and Gav are great guys and enjoy friendly banter with anyone, especially if it’s about fine food, spirits or basketball.
Double Double
502 Hay Street,
Subiaco, Western Australia
Opening hours
Monday 7:30am — 4:00pm
Tuesday 7:30am — 7:00pm
Wednesday — Thursday 7:30am — 8:00pm
Friday 7:30am — 9:00pm
Saturday 8:30am — 12:00pm (midday)
facebook.com/double2double
twitter.com/DoubleDoubleSB
instagram.com/doubledouble_smallbar
