The vintage till is ringing at the iconic Monarch Cake shop in Melbourne’s famous Acland Street and business is brisk, as it has been for the past 90 years.
“I love to come in here, chat with the family, get a book, and it’s a very special part of my day,” says customer Cristina Ceddia.
“I love the coffee and I’m addicted to the cheesecake.”
Keeping European traditions alive is a focus for this family business, but its owners are struggling to pay higher prices for premium ingredients.
“Everything has gone up. Our eggs have doubled in price, butter has gone up, chocolate, wages, everything has gone up,” says Nikki Laski, daughter of the owners.
Monarch Cakes’ famous chocolate Kooglhoupf. Source: Supplied / Nikki Laski
“And you can’t keep raising the prices because people are already stretched. So you have to make less money.”
Monarch Cakes uses century-old recipes for some of its luxurious lines, like the chocolate Kooglhoupf which now has a cult following.
“We use Swiss chocolate, which we melt and we roll across the pastry and fold into the dough. It’s very special, and people love it, so it is our biggest seller,” Laski says.
“And the way we’ve been making it is pretty much the way it would’ve been made back in the late 1800’s.”
Nikki Laski outside the Monarch Cake shop in Acland St, Saint Kilda. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
Laski remains upbeat about the future, despite inflation remaining stubbornly high and no relief from rising costs.
“It’s a great honour that it’s managed to survive 90 years despite everything that’s been thrown at us. So yeah, I’m very proud of that,” she says.
Monarch Cakes is an original in St Kilda’s Acland Street, which is famous worldwide for its sweet treats.
Over the decades, the European-style delicacies have found a following across the country and around the world.
“We are featured internationally, and people come in here with Korean, Chinese, Japanese, French and German travel guides,” Laski says.
“They’ve read about us and they want to experience ‘old school’.
An early photograph of the shop in Acland Street. Source: Supplied / Monarch Cakes
Polish migrants first opened the door in 1934. The shop was originally called Monaco and they later changed the name to Monarch.
The current owners, Gideon and Shirley Markham, bought it in 1996, and retained the shop’s vintage look and feel. Its wooden shelves are crammed with books and magazines, the walls are covered with celebrity photos.
Their daughter Nikki Laski has worked for half her life in the business.
“Dozens of people tell us on a weekly basis to please never change anything,” she says.
“We always joke about Monarch cakes being held together with sticky tape since 1934. And yes, there’s a lot of sticky tape holding this place together, but it just adds to the honesty and the charm of the place.”
Gideon Markham (right) with his daughter Nikki. Credit: Supplied / Nikki Markham
It is not just the interior that has stories to tell. Gideon Markham is 86 and still works 60 hours a week, serving customers as he has done since taking over.
He was born in Poland on the eve of World War II and says early memories remain vivid.
“Warsaw was under bombardment and we actually lived in a part that was the ghetto eventually,” he says.
“At that stage it wasn’t locked in by the Germans, so there was still movement but conditions were terrible, with shortages of food and abuse and diseases.”
Gideon Markham as a baby with his father Maximillion Mahonbaum (centre) and mother Felicia. Source: Supplied / Gideon Markham
“We managed to be spirited out of the ghetto – well, part of our family was. Another part perished, including my father,” he says.
His dad Maximilian Mahonbaum was in the Polish army and is presumed to have died on the eastern front in a series of mass executions known as the Katyn massacres.
“My father was taken by the Russians. He was a reserve officer in the Polish army. And when the war started, he went to his unit on the eastern front.
“But we have no body, we have no grave. All we know is that he was part of 22,000 Polish officers and intelligencia who were executed in 1940.”
Gideon and Shirley Markham at their wedding in 1966. Source: Supplied / Gideon Markham
Markham migrated to Melbourne in 1963, and later married his wife Shirley, who is also from a Polish family.
Over the past 28 years, their beloved cake shop has become a safe haven for St Kilda’s diverse community.
“I’ve been coming here for the last 15 years or so and in that time I have got to know the family quite well,” says customer Roy Lange.
“It’s an amazing place, and I strongly believe in what they are doing for the community here.
“In the past, Gideon faced persecution beyond words and for him to keep a sense of humanity intact means a great deal to me and my family.”
Nikki Laski stands in Monarch Lane, named after the iconic shop. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
That community focus inspired the local council to name a laneway after the shop.
“It’s because we are more than a business. We are also a community hub, a place where people can come to sit and talk to each other.
“So, they named the adjoining street Monarch Lane. It is amazing to be the only business in Victoria with a street named after us,” Laski says.
Even so, times are tough. The outlook for hospitality businesses remains bleak, with one in 11 businesses expected to collapse in the year ahead.
The display in the Monarch Cakes window. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
“The mainstay of the place is chocolate and products like milk and cheese,” says Markham.
“But all the prices have skyrocketed and are constantly going up and up and up.
“Power bills and labour costs are also rising. And also it is not that easy to find staff.”
However, there is good news, too. This year Monarch cakes joined an elite group, named among the world’s top pastry shops after being independently selected for the prestigious ‘La Liste’.
“The French have recognised us and given us an award, which is very, very special,” Laski says.
“For the first time ever in our history, we are now among the top bakeries in the world, which is a lovely thing considering we’re just a small family business in St Kilda.”
Markham’s grandchildren have now joined daughter Nikki and son Daniel working in the café.
With a third generation lending a hand, the family hopes to steer Monarch Cakes towards 100 years and beyond.
Gideon Markham (left) with daughter Nikki Laski (centre) and Shirley Markham. Source: SBS / Sandra Fulloon
“People say to us all the time, don’t ever leave. Are you going to be here? Are your children going to be continuing it?” Shirley Markham says.
“It is very important that Monarch survives because we are the bridge between cultures,” adds Laski.
But the last word belongs to her father Gideon Markham.
“This is not a money-making exercise, it’s just a matter of survival and not wanting this to disappear,” he says.
