Sons of Manor built a business around belonging
Sons of Manor is open from 7 AM Monday to Saturday (8 AM Sunday), all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner until late. No weekend surcharges. View Weekly Specials here.
“Sometimes you have one table a night,” Amit, Sons of Manor owner, says sitting at one of the wooden tables out the front of the café on a warm afternoon in Manor Lakes.
“The team is stressing and I’d say, ‘Don’t stress. Your job is to make that one table happy. That one table will go home, they’re going to tell three other people, and they’re going to tell friends and family.’ That’s how this business grew, with zero marketing.”
In February 2022, as the hospitality industry was years into the uncertainty of the pandemic, Amit opened Sons of Manor at Manor Lakes Central. It was a gamble.
He’s a hospitality veteran with over 15 years experience across Melbourne’s elite venues – from the Langham Hotel to high profile nightclubs – who moved out of the CBD in 2018 to head west.
Settling in Wyndham Vale he saw a gap. There wasn’t a hospitality venue open all day where families, kids, and professionals of every background could feel welcome. Sons of Manor could be that place.
Lunch: Reuben sandwiches with 12-hour smoked brisket – Sons of Manor
A hands-on vision
Amit designed the venue himself, with some building construction experience. Still under Covid restrictions, he couldn’t get an architect on site so he drew all the plans by hand.
The venue became an open space with high ceilings, indoor and outdoor seating separated by large glass windows. A flexible, modern fit-out accommodates early breakfast with quick takeaway coffees to late-night dinner and drinks.
Amit says value as one of his guiding principles, saying that “if customers spend a dollar here, they have to get the dollar worth. It’s just that simple.”
Built by the community, for the community
Amit credits the residents of Manor Lakes for making Sons of Manor what it is today.
“Lovely people, they support you, they’re vocal about feedback, and we listen. If there’s a problem, we fix it straight away.”
The connection to the local community is no accident. The venue works with Wyndham City Council, participating in staff dining voucher programs, the team also provides food to the Salvation Army and supports the local CFA.
Amit points out that patrons who first came as diners now send their teenage kids to work here. Children who celebrated birthdays at Sons of Manor now bring friends for brunch.
“We’ve seen the kids grow up here,” Amit says. “That’s how it should be, looking after each other.”
A reflection of the suburb it serves.
Manor Lakes, part of the City of Wyndham, is one of Victoria’s fastest-growing areas.
According to the Census, the suburb of Manor Lakes grew by more than 4,000 people between 2016 and 2021, with a current population around 12,675.
It’s a family-first, diverse and upwardly mobile community, where residents are mostly between 25 and 59 years old, family households, and invested in their homes.
This demographic of young families, professionals, diverse cultures, is exactly who Sons of Manor was built for.
“It’s a place for everyone,” says Amit. “And the location is brilliant, you don’t have to drive to High Street or fight for parking. You can get the same quality food right here.”
Located within Manor Lakes Central, the shopping and services hub, Sons of Manor is part of a growing retail ecosystem that now includes Bunnings, a supermarket, and other major brands. Future plans for additional retailers and investment means locals can get everything they need nearby.
Sons shines
“We make people happy, that’s our industry,” Amit says. “You come in, you walk out happy. That’s our job.”
Amit himself works nearly every day to run the several hospitality businesses he’s created. He says that in three years he’s taken “maybe five days off”.
“You have to love hospitality and love people. That’s the only way you can do it.”
His advice for other businesses thinking about launching in Manor Lakes?
“Be creative. Don’t open the same thing next door to someone else. And work hard, really hard.”
“It’s the people,” Amit emphasises again. “You make people happy they won’t leave you, they keep coming back.”
Dishes recommended at Sons of Manor:
Breakfast: Chilli scramble eggs
Lunch: Reuben sandwiches with 12-hour smoked brisket.
Sons of Manor offers more than standard café fare. The kitchen is open nearly all day, from morning coffee through to happy hour cocktails and dinner service.
Visit sonsofmanor.com.au
Manor Lakes Central
16/455 Ballan Rd
Wyndham Vale VIC 3024
Lifestyle at Manor Lakes
Manor Lakes in Melbourne’s West offers the perfect location for those looking to live an active and connected lifestyle in an established yet growing neighbourhood.