Community hub on Adelaide’s best street anchors food-and-retail cluster, promises sourdough

A warehouse at 100 Gilbert Street in Adelaide’s city south has been converted from the former skate shop Daily Grind into a three‑way community hub combining a bakery, Scandi furniture retail and a photography studio. Housewarmers, Idle Hands and Common Uncommon now occupy the space with a mix of sourdough loaves, barista‑style coffee, Danish furniture and an exhibition studio tucked to the back of the building.

Lewis McDonald runs Idle Hands alongside his sister Ella, and McDonald says the coffee shop, specialty sourdough bakery and a planned wine bar have seen immediate demand. He says the business already sells between 240 and 260 of their sourdough cardamom buns a week, a Scandinavian breakfast staple that he believes will continue to "bring people from far and wide." McDonald also noted Idle Hands "has only been open for two weeks so far."

Housewarmers owners Ben and Lolly are the retail face of the project, contributing Scandi furniture to the mixed retail offering, while Common Uncommon will operate "a studio space that will be used for exhibitions and workshops around still and moving photography." The three businesses occupy the exact spot that used to house the skateboarding shop Daily Grind, transforming the address into a multi‑use retail and hospitality cluster.

The group’s shared model is central to how the project came together. McDonald framed the arrangement as a practical way into an otherwise unaffordable CBD warehouse: "None of the three of us could have ever accessed this space independently," he said, adding that "Having multiple people share the space, share the rent, share the bills, share everything, it suddenly becomes accessible." He went so far as to call the concept "the future of a lot of hospitality venues."

McDonald’s hospitality background is invoked as part of Idle Hands’ approach. IndailySA material notes he has channelled two decades of experience at venues including Exchange Coffee and LOC Bottle Bar, adopting "bits and pieces from everything he’s learned at home and abroad" into the Gilbert Street operation. The site pairs that hospitality know‑how with Housewarmers’ retail and Common Uncommon’s programming to create a single address offering coffee, sourdough and rotating photography shows.

CityMag ran a feature on the new Gilbert Street hub on February 18, 2026 and posted an Instagram update on February 19, 2026 from citymagadl that recorded 68 likes and 2 comments under the caption "A new community hub in the CBD's south promises coveted sourdough, Scandi furniture." Separately, Port Adelaide’s Lipson Street Collective has been highlighted for its sourdough scene, where Team Bread Joy led by Paul Tierney serves on‑site baked sourdough, packed sandos, filled baguettes and fan‑favourite inside‑out toasties that some customers have hailed as "the best bread in Adelaide."

If the Gilbert Street model holds, the mix of weekly bun volumes, shared costs and diversified retail could make similar CBD warehouse sites viable for small hospitality and retail operators. At 100 Gilbert Street, sourdough is already the anchor that turned a former skate shop into a community hub.