Latest news with #Marrickville
News.com.au
a day ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Protesters have targeted Albo's Sydney electorate office after Israeli forces board Greta Thunberg's ship
Protesters have gathered outside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Sydney electorate office after Israeli forces intercepted a boat of activists – including Greta Thunberg – that was attempting to challenge the blockade of Gaza. Thunberg was among a group of activists on board the ship aid supplies when the boat was intercepted by Israeli forces on Monday Sydney time. The Israel Foreign Ministry dubbed the boat a 'selfie yacht' of 'celebrities' in a post to X, writing the boat was 'safely making its way to the shores of Israel'. 'The passengers are expected to return to their home countries,' the Israel Foreign Ministry wrote to X about 10.54am AEST. Pro-Palestine protesters called a snap protest at Mr Albanese's office in Marrickville on Monday afternoon, wielding signs reading 'Good guys don't block aid' and Palestinian flags.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trendy cafe hits back at entitled food critic who erupted into foul-mouthed whinge after he missed out on trying their sold-out sandwiches a second time
A popular cafe has hit back after a TikTok food critic complained he was unable to review its sandwiches because they had run out of stock in an expletive-laden rant. John-Ray Boukarim faced backlash after he visited the newly-opened cafe located at Marrickville, in Sydney 's Inner West, earlier this week. It was the second time Mr Boukarim went to the venue but he was unable to review the food as it had run out of bread for sandwiches In a rant shared on TikTok with his 14,000 followers, Mr Boukarim accused the owners of not knowing how to run a business. 'You think you would have your operation under control knowing what stock levels you would need in order to keep up with the demand, yet you still finish and run out of food an hour or two before you shut,' he said. 'F*** off, and stop wasting my time. Don't open up a business unless you know how to run it. Like seriously.' Mr Boukarim said he had no intention of tarnishing the cafe and deliberately left out the name in his video. Its owners have since spoken out, revealing the cafe was Bertas. 'We work out of a compact 36sqm space with a small tight-knit team and have up to eight people on deck during busy times,' they told on Thursday. 'Every sandwich we serve is made fresh to order, and we make as much in-house as possible - often starting in the early hours and finishing late at night. 'We hate having to turn people away, especially as we started this place to offer a high-quality product at an accessible price. 'This is what starting something from scratch looks like, and we're all in.' In his explosive video on Monday, Mr Boukarim claimed he and ten other customers in the cafe missed out on sandwiches. 'These idiots, "Oh we sold out". How do you sell out bro!' he said. He suggested the owners 'up' their bread quantities and donate any excess to charity. 'I guarantee you selling an extra 15 sandwiches vs giving away 15 to 25 pieces of bread completely outweighs the stand alone bread cost,' Mr Boukarim wrote. Social media users largely disagreed with Mr Boukarim's rant, with many scolding him for not visiting the cafe earlier on his second trip. 'That's just not how it works. If they sold out that means they're doing something right,' one wrote. 'You'd think you'd learn your lesson and go earlier the second time,' another said. Others slammed the food reviewer for claiming the owner did not know how to run a business, claiming he was the one who lacked understanding of a cafe's logistics. 'I understand that frustration however, sometimes they can physically order as much as their establishments can store/make in their kitchen,' one commented. 'They have only been open for four weeks and you think they should have it down pact exactly how much stock they need?' another said. Mr Boukarim replied to some of the comments claiming the video was a way for him to express himself and that 'for the most part' he was 'just taking the p***'. Mr Boukarim told Daily Mail Australia he was hesitant to visit the cafe a third time due to his past experiences. 'My hope was to offer constructive criticism that could potentially benefit the business in the long run,' Mr Boukarim told Daily Mail Australia. 'I personally feel it's better for businesses to slightly over-prepare and then donate any surplus, or utilise it the next day if feasible.' Mr Boukarim noted it was 'uncommon' for successful and established restaurants to frequently sell out of core items during their advertised hours. 'Imagine Maccas ran out of burger buns,' he said. 'While I get that unexpected things happen, it's those repeated issues - especially on a busy Saturday - that can really bother consumers.'
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Food blogger slams trendy new cafe for ‘annoying' problem
An Aussie food reviewer has lashed out at a newly opened sandwich shop in Sydney for running out of food before he could try it. Food blogger John-Ray Boukarim said that he visited the newly opened cafe, Bertas, in the Inner West suburb of Marrickville – not once, but twice – and on both occasions the eatery had run out of bread for sandwiches. Taking to TikTok to express his frustration, he explained to his 14k followers that he had planned his 'whole day' around reviewing the food for 'no gain other than boosting their business'. However, when he arrived for the second time, he was disappointed to learn that he and at least 10 other customers had missed out on trying one of their coveted sandwiches. 'Listen, tell me how the f*** you open up a business,' he began. 'You think you would have your operation under control, knowing what stock levels you would need in order to keep up with the demand, yet you still finish and run out of food an hour or two before you shut.' 'F*** off, and stop wasting my time,' the expletive-filled rant continued. 'Don't open up a business unless you know how to run it. Like seriously'. Speaking to Mr Boukarim said that the cafe should increase their bread quantities to avoid this issue in the future, and if they don't sell out by the end of the day, they should donate the rest to charity or use it the next day if possible. 'As a consumer, when a business advertises a time frame of operation, I expect those to be reasonably available throughout that period,' he said. 'For example, a sandwich shop running out of bread an hour before closing raises questions about meeting customer expectations set by their own advertised hours. Why have a business open and closing time? Rather have 'Until sold out'.' He noted that this issue is particularly frustrating when it happens repeatedly, especially on weekends. 'Customers often work Monday to Friday, so their weekends are precious,' he said. 'Imagine planning a nice Saturday lunch with the family, waiting in line, only to be told you've sold out. 'That's incredibly annoying, especially for families with kids. It's a huge waste of their limited family time.' The video quickly went viral, accumulating over 60,000 views as Aussies shared their thoughts on this issue in cafe culture. A spokesperson for Bertas told that they've been amazed by the response they've received from the community after just five weeks of opening — and they're still figuring things out. 'We work out of a compact 36 sqm space with a small tight-knit team, and have up to eight people on deck during busy times,' they said. 'Each one giving their all to serve as many sandwiches as possible, always with quality and consistency at the heart of everything we do. 'Every sandwich we serve is made fresh to order, and we make as much in-house as possible — often starting in the early hours and finishing late at night.' They explained that while demand has exceeded expectations and continues to grow week on week, they're actively working to scale quickly and sustainably. 'This means sourcing more staff, refining operations, and doing our best to ensure we can serve everyone who comes through our doors,' they said. 'We hate having to turn people away, especially as we started this place to offer a high-quality product at an accessible price. This is what starting something from scratch looks like, and we're all in.' Commenters on the video mostly sided with the cafe on this one — saying it's common for businesses in their early days to suffer teething issues. 'You should give them more grace if they're new. They're still learning,' said one customer. 'They have only been open for a few weeks and you think they should have it down pat exactly how much stock they need?' questioned another. 'Even a business that is 15 years old might have weeks they weren't expecting and can be sold out'. Others claimed he made a mistake by going so close to closing time. 'If you want good fresh food, rule of thumb never show up two hours before closing,' another noted. 'You have the right to be upset but maybe go earlier next time,' advised another. Mr Boukarim told this publication that his intention with the video was not to tarnish the reputation of the business but to provide some constructive feedback. Currently, in Australia, 60 per cent of businesses will fail within their first three years of operation, with 20 per cent failing in their first year. He believes that this sort of 'tough love' he provided in his video can help businesses adapt quickly and critically assess their offerings — leading to more success in the future and, hopefully, preventing them from shutting down.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Woolworths and Coles shoppers unleash about price issue
Long-suffering Aussies are facing even more hikes in household bills as the cost of living crisis becomes even worse, despite the Albanese government's claims that inflation was now under control. One Sydney mum of two said that her weekly grocery bills are now an eye-watering $400 - compared to the $60 she used to pay. Britany Shaw, 30, told Daily Mail Australia that her husband is 'working seven night shifts back to back - insane amounts of work - just to get us by'. Speaking outside of the Marrickville Metro shopping centre in Sydney's inner-west on Tuesday morning, Britany revealed her grocery bill has gone up by $100 'in the past three weeks' alone. 'And that's just your fruit and veggies, nappies, toilet paper, just regular stuff. There's not even that much in there,' she said, showing the contents of her shopping trolley as three-year-old daughter Evie watched on. 'When we were a family of three, I used to spend about $60 on grocery shopping for a week for us. Now I'm spending $400 per week for four. The most expensive part is the vegetables. Last week, I spent $17 on one carton of eggs. 'It makes it hard to feed your family healthy food,unless you want to spend thousands of dollars.' While headline inflation has moderated to 2.4 per cent, prompting the Reserve Bank to ease interest rates, some staple food items are still surging by double-digit figures. Egg prices soared by 18.6 per cent in the year to April, following a bird flu outbreak that necessitated the culling of huge numbers of chickens. Fruit and vegetable prices climbed by 6.1 per cent and now there are fears milk and dairy prices will go up, following recent floods in the industry's NSW centre. Groceries aren't the only thing hitting Britany's hip pocket, with the young mum spending $850 weekly rent on a two-bedroom unit in Wooli Creek. 'It's terrible, things are falling apart. There's mould in the ceiling,' she said. In unwelcome news for inner-city families, mass immigration is also having an effect on the costs of housing, with rents increasing by five per cent. 'We're struggling pretty hard so we're moving to Beerwah in Queensland next week because we can't take it anymore,' Britany said. Kasia Pieszko, a mother of two from Roseberry in Sydney's inner south, revealed she had just spent about $350 on groceries - and that's not enough to last the week for her husband and two young children. 'I was just sort of processing the cost in my head when you stopped me,' she said. 'I was having a conversation with my partner where we decided we needed to start being really mindful of our spending. Like focus more on our grocery shop and not do any frivolous spending on things like a coffee here, and croissant there. 'We find we are limiting our social life to make up for it, especially now that I haven't been working for three years. 'We do buy quite premium, organic produce, especially for the kids. We like high-welfare products, so we do allow quite a big budget for our food. It can range between $500 and $600 per week.' Kasia admits that she is surprised by the skyrocketing price of organic strawberries, which are now about $8.50 a punnet. 'I like to shop around a bit for the best prices. We try to wait until the staples like coffee, nappies, wet wipes, that sort of thing, go half price and then we stock up,' she said. Mirjana Rajic, a 37-year-old mum of one who lives with her parents in Sydney's inner-west, admitted $300 worth of groceries only lasts them two days. 'And I haven't even bought nappies yet. I find myself struggling a lot more. We don't always eat meat,' she said. Mirjana finds herself cutting out key foods from meals to save money, and shopping across Coles, Woolworths and Aldi in a bid to find the best bargains. 'In this week's shop I didn't buy cucumber or tomatoes, I just bought the mixed greens. I buy what I need for my son and I just have whatever he eats,' she said. Local retiree Angelo Papas, 57, manages to make a $300 grocery bill stretch across two weeks for himself and his mother, who he cares for. 'I would say my grocery costs have gone up about 30 per cent in a year,' he said. 'There isn't a lot I can do about it.' Now another perfect storm of drought, flood and inflation is set to send everyday prices soaring yet again. Agribusiness giant Elders is predicting an increase in beef and lamb prices, in the six months to September, due to 'increased de-stocking in dry regions'. Meanwhile, Joe Bradley, the president of dairy farmers' group eastAUSmilk, told Daily Mail Australia a 10 per cent fall in milk production was likely as a result of the latest floods in New South Wales and Cyclone Alfred in Queensland in March. 'Prices of dairy and dairy products will have to go up, there's no ifs or buts,' he said. 'Milk has to go up: you can't be paying $1.50 a litre for milk, it has to be two bucks a litre minimum for home brand milk.' That would see a 2litre bottle rising to $4. Another blow for consumers is electricity price increases of up to 9.7 per cent from July 1. This is occurring in the lead-up to the Albanese government's $75 quarterly electricity rebates expiring at the end of December. The Australian Energy Regulator's determinations mean NSW customers on standing offers face the steepest price growth of between 8.3 per cent to 9.7 per cent, depending on their network area. Residential customers on default plans in southeast Queensland can expect hikes of anywhere between 0.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent, while people in South Australia face rises of 2.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent. Victorian households can expect a modest one per cent average bump, following an Essential Services Commission ruling. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government's energy policies when asked if households were bearing the financial burden of switching to relatively expensive renewable energy and phasing out much cheaper alternatives like coal, oil and gas. 'The cheapest form of new energy is renewables, backed by gas, backed by batteries and backed by hydro for firming capacity,' he said. 'That is the transition that is underway. 'And at the election on May 3, there was the option of stopping all of that, waiting until the 2040s for the nuclear fantasy to be rolled out with costs, unknown of that.' Egg shortages have seen prices skyrocket in the past year due to bird flu outbreaks Deputy Liberal leader Ted O'Brien said electricity prices continued to rise despite 'constant assurances of cheaper power from the Albanese government '. 'The AER identifies high demand, network and power station outages and low renewable generation as the key drivers behind the continued rise in prices,' the former energy spokesman said. 'While the Opposition acknowledges it did not meet expectations at the recent election the fundamental issues in Australia's energy market under Labor persist - prices continue to rise.'
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Just wow': Anytime Fitness slammed over ad
A controversial ad posted by Anytime Fitness has been scrubbed from the internet after a mountain of negative feedback. The video, posted by Marrickville Anytime Fitness, showed a worker hiding behind the gym before leaping out at a passerby. The worker then pretends to 'knock out' the passerby with chloroform before dragging them into the venue and making them sign a membership contract while unconscious. 'When our boss tells us to sign up more members,' the video was captioned. The video was posted to the Marrickville Community group and quickly received dozens of negative comments. 'FYI drugging and kidnapping women is not a cute and acceptable marketing strategy,' one wrote. Another wrote: 'Seriously? Who thought a video showing a member of your team kidnapping someone off the street, doping them so they lose consciousness and then forging their signature for a monthly membership would be a good marketing idea.' The video remained up with the negative comments deleted before it was eventually taken down. 'Just wow. I am so speechless about how tone deaf the original post was but then how you've doubled down by refusing to remove it and deleting negative comments,' one commenter wrote. Anytime Fitness did not respond to multiple requests for comment by The faux pas comes just days after a popular teeth-whitening brand was forced to issue an apology for its latest advertising campaign. White Glo's new ad, emblazoned with the phrase 'Make the white choice', has been spotted on Melbourne trams and Sydney buses in recent days, quickly sparking a wave of backlash online. In a statement, White Glo said that while the ads were 'purely about teeth whitening, with no other intended meaning' they would be working to remove the ads due to the offence caused. 'Our ads feature the tagline 'Make the White Choice' which is intended to be a wordplay on 'Make the Right Choice', to highlight the effectiveness and reliability of our products, versus some less effective products we are seeing emerge in the market,' a statement read. 'Whilst this campaign was accepted by Australia's Advertising Regulator in April, the response in the last couple of days has indicated that we have missed the mark.'
