Some other stores are faring better. Calle Bakery has grown to be a destination eatery in Rathdowne Village since opening in August 2022. The business has more than 70,000 Instagram followers and has opened a new store on High Street in Northcote.
But while the bakery is experiencing strong trade, Calle owner Kevin says Rathdowne Village’s nighttime scene is struggling.
Calle Bakery staff at the Rathdowne Street store. Credit: Simon Schluter
“What Rathdowne Street used to be and what it is now, it’s very different,” he says. “People are actually coming during the day. But at night, when it’s cold and freezing, the street’s dead. It’s meant to be a lot more lively than that.”
Part of this dip in nighttime activity could be because younger people are being increasingly priced out of the neighbourhood. While most Carlton North dwellers are renters (50 per cent of residents didn’t own their homes in 2021, according to census data), the cost is rising rapidly.
The median weekly rent payment in the suburb was $300 in the 2006 census but by 2021, this had ballooned to $552. REA Group data now estimates the median to be $800 a week as of July 2025.
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Rathdowne Village was never destined to be one of Melbourne’s nightlife capitals, says Associate Professor Rory Hyde of the faculty of architecture, building and planning at the University of Melbourne.
“It’s always been just a local street,” he says. “It’s never really been able to reach beyond to be a Lygon Street, or to be a Brunswick Street, or to be a Smith Street. It is feeling a bit tired maybe, and it’s probably always felt a bit tired.”
Hyde sees this localised identity as a strength rather than a weakness. “We need a street like this in every neighbourhood where you can get your errands done without having to drive to the shopping centre,” he says. “Those kinds of streets are fading, I think. So hopefully it can cling on.”
Matt Wynne, who has run his boutique jewellery studio on the street for 32 years, calls the village one of the most special spots in the city.
“We’ve had lots of ups and downs, but the strip at the moment is the most vibrant it’s ever been,” Wynne says. “It’s one of those lovely places. There’s not another place in Melbourne where I’d prefer to be. I’m lucky enough to have found this.”
Jewellers Matt Wynne and Maddy Woosley in their Rathdowne Village store.Credit: Simon Schluter
While there is the occasional shopfront up for lease, other spots on the strip remain busy. Florian Eatery has become a mainstay in the village, known for its coffee and fresh food. Edita’s fish and chip shop moved to the street last year, and often attracts queues of people waiting to order.
Jacob Murray-White, now an IT director, has fond memories of living on the street as a university student. It’s where he took his wife for their first date.
“She’s an American. She was on exchange here in 1992 or ’93 … we sat in the middle of Rathdowne Street, just out the front of Curtain Square, eating La Porchetta,” he says.
Now based in Brunswick, Murray-White wouldn’t hesitate to move closer to Rathdowne Village if it weren’t for the expensive property prices. His mother-in-law lives nearby and he still sees the local optometrist. He considers himself lucky that he gets to visit so frequently.
Jacob Murray-White at Curtain Square in Rathdowne Street.Credit: Simon Schluter
“It really hasn’t changed since I lived there … It’s just a beautiful place,” he says. “It still feels the same really. There are some bits and pieces that change, but it really is timeless.”
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