Maxime Thuez

Photo by Sullivan Chedanne

Maxime Thuez

Max bought Birichina with his business partners Richie Harkham and Stephen Jedovnicky over a year ago now. He had worked there for 8 years before that, starting out as the dish hand before moving up to chef, barista then manager. Those promotions aren’t offered to lazy layabouts!

 What is your Bondi story?

“I came to Australia on a WHV (Working Holiday Visa) from Nice, France and got a job straight away at Birichina. I've always loved the intimate, family-like vibe here and of course can't complain about the iconic view! I love the customers and how many of them have become friends through the cafe, I even met my partner Jennifer when she used to work here as my boss! We now have two young Birichina babies together and she is still the boss haha.”

 What motivates you?

“I have been given the opportunity to own a cafe in one of the most beautiful places in the world which I’m so grateful for and that motivates me to want to give back to the community by helping people in need. I’m so inspired by the meaningful work my business partner Richie does with his charity Hark Angel, so we’re looking at a few different initiatives at the moment on how we can give back more, so watch this space!”

 How do you spend the first hour of your day?

“I usually wake up every day at 4:15am, get ready for work quietly to not wake up the family and walk to the cafe. I love that first hour of the morning when the sun is rising and I enjoy some ‘me time’ where I sip my coffee and get the cafe ready before the locals come to get their morning coffee!”

Is there one thing you’d like people to know about you?

 “Don’t judge, but I’ve lived in Bondi Beach for 10 years and never tried surfing! My son is starting to show some interest now though so maybe we’ll be doing lessons together soon haha.”