Founded by sisters Maddison and Taylah Canny, Mount Barker eatery Lady Luck is serving up shakshuka, buckwheat pancakes and De Groot Coffee in the Adelaide Hills.

Sister duo Maddison and Taylah Canny chat with CityMag a week after opening Adelaide Hills café Lady Luck. They report they were surprised to turn customers away on their first day of trade.

“We were so blessed especially in the first week of opening to have that support,” Maddison says.

The pair are Adelaide Hills girls, who’ve both worked in Adelaide cafés over the years – as well as internationally – with Taylah boasting Café Troppo chops.

In December 2020, they decided to bring their own spin to Mount Barker’s culinary scene and developed the concept of Lady Luck: a “light-filled” and “airy” culmination of all the best hospitality bits.

They picked up the keys to the property a few days before Christmas and, with the help of family and friends, refit the space within 10 days.

“We’re currently [a] cafe, breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea, cake spot,” Maddison says.

“Lady Luck is really just a little hub pretty much, which we’ve poured ourselves into.”

Get your greens in

Both sisters brought their own style into the fit-out. The family’s collection of cowboy boots line one shelf, and bright plants and Indigenous paintings stand out among the moss-coloured walls.

The ceramic crockery – imprinted with the initials ‘LL’ – was designed and fired by family friend Rose Walker.

Lady Luck’s menu offers high-impact but still simple dishes.

“We wanted to start off with a few really beautiful delicious things that we could really nail, so, for example, we’ve got the falafel bowl which is filled with home-made falafels,” Maddison says.

“This comes with pickled onion, pickled turmeric radish [and] hemp seeds with dates throughout.”

The other staples include leek and chive dumplings drenched in soy and tomato ginger sauce, as well as the crispy chicken burger. A green shakshuka – a saucy baked egg dish – is also on the all-day menu.

More breakfast-friendly meals include buckwheat pancakes, granola and classic big brekkie.

There is De Groot Coffee on pour, as well as juices made from very local produce.

“We’ve had a lot of people drop stuff off, which is so amazing,” Maddison says, “you wouldn’t even know some of it was from someone’s backyard.

“People are so generous. There’s been a lot of generosity in the community.”

There’s falafel in there

Going into business with a sibling has the potential to be a stressful affair, but Maddison says she wouldn’t have considered opening Lady Luck without Taylah, as they each have complementary skillsets.

Maddison is more “money-oriented” and Taylah thinks more “creatively”, and they level each other out. Maddison says she wouldn’t change the dynamic for anything, and that is precisely why the business works.

“But, you know, we’re only nine days into Lady Luck,” she says, laughing.

“She’s the most amazing, creative mind and I feel very lucky to be in business with her because in a way, I don’t I just don’t think we would ever succeed without each other. And I think that’s a really nice thing to have with a family member.”

Lady Luck is located at 16 Walker Street, Mount Barker, and is open 7am ’til 4pm Monday to Friday, 7am ’til 3pm Saturday, and 8am ’til 3pm Sunday.

Connect with Lady Luck on Facebook and Instagram.