Coles Local, New York diner among first retailers revealed for Rozelle Village

After years of plans, proposals and a long-vacant site, the new Rozelle Village is beginning to take shape, with developer Perifa revealing the first retailers that will anchor the landmark mixed-use precinct.

A Coles Local, a new New York-style diner from the team behind Brooklyn Boy Bagels, Sydney specialty coffee roaster Stitch Coffee and Double Cross Dining Room have been confirmed as the first operators at the major inner west development.

The announcement is another significant step in the transformation of the prominent Rozelle site, which Perifa, part of Versatile Group, is developing in partnership with Mitsubishi Estate Asia.

Rozelle Village will deliver 227 new apartments, including 59 affordable homes, alongside a new retail and dining precinct, activated laneways and a substantial public town plaza.

Completion is currently targeted for early 2028.

From the outset, Perifa sought to create a thriving village centre, with the ground plane intended to become part of the everyday fabric of Rozelle and neighbouring Balmain.

A new Coles Local supermarket will anchor the precinct, bringing the supermarket’s neighbourhood-focused format to Rozelle. The Coles Local offering will ensure it is uniquely tailored to the local demographic, stocking premium products from local suppliers as well as the everyday essentials found in larger Coles stores.

Around it will be a collection of hospitality operators aimed at giving Rozelle Village activity throughout the day rather than operating simply as a convenience retail centre.

Among the most significant is a new concept from Brooklyn Boy Bagels founder Michael Shafran.

Shafran is working with executive chef RJ Lines, the hatted chef behind Sydney institution One Penny Red, on a New York-style diner that will expand well beyond the Brooklyn Boy Bagels offering while retaining the brand's New York roots.

Shafran said the ambition is to create another genuine destination for Rozelle.

“Rozelle has no shortage of great venues, but there are relatively few places designed to be true destinations,” Shafran said.

“We see a real opportunity to create that kind of venue at Rozelle Village and establish a gathering place for people to return to over and over again.”

Stitch Coffee, named among Good Food's 100 Essential Sydney Cafés and Bakeries for 2026, will serve its specialty coffee and pastries.

Double Cross Dining Room, led by Samuel Lee, Quinton Ng, and the team behind ONLY Coffee Project, will provide a more substantial all-day offering, serving from breakfast through to dinner and opening onto a courtyard designed as another gathering space within the precinct.

Perifa Managing Director Fabrizio Perilli said the retail and public plaza had been treated as fundamental components of the development rather than secondary additions to the residential buildings.

“Our vision is to create a precinct that celebrates the history and character of the area while delivering much-needed housing and amenity,” Perilli said.

“The retail, dining and public realm at Rozelle Village are fundamental to creating a place that feels connected to the community and adds something meaningful to the neighbourhood.”

The retail strategy has been developed with Retail Strategy Group, which has focused on finding a balance between operators residents will use regularly and hospitality concepts capable of drawing people into the precinct from the surrounding inner west.

Retail Strategy Group Founder and Director Angela Bonnefin said the mix was deliberately curated around how the precinct would be used at different times of the day.

“The mix we have selected provides the everyday convenience the community needs, while also introducing distinctive dining and coffee experiences that give people more reasons to visit, gather and stay,” Bonnefin said.

The latest announcement also provides another marker in the evolution of one of Rozelle's most significant development sites.

For Perifa, the ambition is for the completed project to do more than deliver new housing. The combination of apartments, affordable housing, retail, hospitality and publicly accessible spaces is intended to create a new focal point for the suburb and reconnect a site that has remained underutilised for years with the surrounding Rozelle and Balmain community.

Perilli said Versatile Group's vertically integrated model had allowed the development team to consider the residential, retail and public spaces together.

“Versatile Group’s integrated approach allows us to consider every element of the precinct together and deliver a place that responds to what the Rozelle and Balmain communities want and expect,” Perilli said.

With the first retailers now committed and construction progressing toward an early 2028 completion, attention will increasingly turn to the remaining hospitality and retail operators that will complete the new Rozelle Village.