Time to (re)meet Quang and Heath. You might know them (already) from such western suburbs sensations as Devour Café Patisserie.

Third Time Lucky is a new café borne of collaboration and coincidence, but its future will be built on the supreme deliciousness of its coffee and donuts (and pastries, and bagels).

Opened by Quang Nguyen and Heath Dalziel eight days ago, it’s a follow-on from the pair’s existing western suburbs success – Devour Café Patisserie.

The name is a reference to Quang and Heath’s impromptu approach to business, which has so far seen the original Devour in Prospect and then its re-imagination at Richmond go from strength to strength without a business plan in sight. The origin story of Third Time Lucky is in keeping with this approach.

“My friend’s Dad owns this block of shops and wanted us to have a look,” says Heath of the old strip of storefronts on Henley Beach Road that accommodates the café.

“The curved glass at the front is pretty much why we decided to take it,” adds Quang.

While the bones of the shop – its architecture and form – were strong, its fittings were not. Quang and Heath spent the next couple of months ripping up the weird floating floorboards, daggy tiles and poor LED lighting before calling in a little help from their friends to create something new in the space.

“It really came together as a collaboration between us and some of our regulars [from Devour],” says Heath.

“One of the guys who comes in all the time was from Dulux, so he helped us with the paint. Another is at Uzit Kitchens, so he came up with this great floating bench idea and then some others had just started their own businesses as tradies, so they came on board too.”

Heath and Quang themselves took care of the design and fit-out, which was inspired by some stores they had seen and loved on a recent trip to Japan.

With a simple, light-filled atmosphere and brass-meets-wood colour palette, Third Time Lucky still manages to be more comfortable than minimal thanks to the sturdy, cushy furniture Quang sourced from Tommy Swiss in Melbourne.

The level of comfort is also dialled up by the pair’s propensity for familiarity in their service style – something that became a foundation for their reputation over at Devour.

“We love that community,” says Quang.

“We want people to come in and say ‘hi’, even if they’re not going to buy anything,” adds Heath.

When CityMag visits at 8am on a weekday, there’s already people trickling in and out, chatting as they come and go. But it’s hard to say whether they’re here for the friendly smile or for a stupidly good donut, bagel or pastry made by Quang, or for the Five Senses coffee Heath is producing.

While the coffee and cabinet of quick bites is Third Time Lucky’s main fare at the moment, there is plans for expansion of the offering.

“We want to get a proper kitchen going here, but it’s a change of use so we’re working with Council on that, but we have a good relationship with them,” says Heath.

“We want to just try and do some sweet and savoury – things like pies and bagel bombs and pizza pockets, but good ones.”

There’s other plans too – for a hedge and grass out front to make the outdoor seating a little more welcoming, and for a glass panel through to the back so people can see Quang at work once the kitchen is approved. But as should be expected, this is all open to change.

“Everything is fluid, if it seems people want something different – then we’ll do that,” says Heath.

With that kind of approach to hospitality, it’s probably not luck that has gotten Heath and Quang this far.