Two mates, one coffee-loving and one coffee-making, fell for the formerly baby blue-hued milk bar on Auburn Road in late 2021. A long-held idea for a takeaway style, pandemic-practical café, Whiplash, became a reality. Hospitality heavyweight Jordan Faulkner and AFL Collingwood defender Jordan Roughead joined forces and found the site that would realise their dream. It was an school milk bar, untouched for years.

The Jordans workshopped ideas for Whiplash over many months, joining forces with builder/designer Axiom Built, to refashion the distinctive milk bar as a Fitzroy-esque café. The early 20th century brick walls have been white-washed, the old steel roof removed to reveal a high apex ceiling, the colour scheme black, white and deep red. A bench seat and series of schoolboy stalls line one wall, with a large communal table in the centre of the space, while a tall sliding window opens onto the main drag so orders can be made entirely outside.

“It’s turned out exactly as we wanted, it’s loyal to the style we like and is also something different for the area,” Faulker says. “Now we’re just really looking forward to getting to know the locals and for them to know us.”

The Whip team is rounded out by fellow Collingwood players, Brody Mihocek, Callum Brown, Nathan Murphy, and Chef Will Steele.

The finished result? Come and see for yourself.