10/10/2023
Vale Robert
Robert Sebes, co-founder of Badde Manors Cafe, with Judy Backhouse in 1982, died on Sunday October 8, aged 76.
Robert was the quiet man behind the scenes at the cafe. He built the now famous interior over 2 years from recycled booths and fittings scavenged from abandoned cafes around Sydney and kept the temperamental antique coffee machines going from day to day. He literally created the environment and conditions which made the extraordinary culture that grew up around the cafe possible.
He was usually found ‘out the back’ tinkering in his workshop with a dismantled piece of something essential to the continued functioning of the cafe.
Robert loved coffee, cake, food and deserts with strong flavours. Me loved music and, when around, dictated the cafe play list with an iron hand. Above all, was a generous host.
A chemical engineer by training he began manufacturing gelato in the late 80s, which grew into his second enterprise, with his son Danny, Bellingen Gelato.
Badde Manors changed Sydney forever. It was one of the first vegetarian cafes in Sydney and the genesis of Sydney ‘coffee culture’. It was a haven for all who frequented the place. A place of acceptance of diversity, of the homeless, of the up and coming and the down and out. Many people discovered themselves in and around the cafe: working, living, eating or drinking there. Relationships were formed, sexuality, creativity, politics, friendship and love discovered.
That particular ‘inner west’ vibe - yoga classes, coffee, gay culture, art, music, student life seemed to germinate in Glebe in the 1980s and Badde Manors was a huge part of that.
Robert was also an endlessly dedicated and giving father to Danny and Lottie and husband to Gina. He built a family based on love and loyalty, sharing his love of films, food, music and travel. He raised two children into adults who aspire to be more like him every day.
Vale Robert. You are remembered, loved and appreciated by so many. You will be sorely missed.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/a-special-magical-place-inside-the-sydney-institution-that-changed-the-city-forever-20231011-p5ebko.html?btis=&fbclid=IwAR1Edft_6T6Zv8gDLujzMCUArZEhy4d9PHFOsoHlmEm7y5v7shPVteM8TJs_aem_AYdtzu24IBy7MKxADvSP6TA2vuTFtyi6dZFnPgpjDDhl8lEfrmxN9jsqdmDZ0QFQups&mibextid=I6gGtw
