ASTRID McCORMACK AND JOSH LEWIS

Fleet (Brunswick Heads, New South Wales) “You could lay on the road on a Wednesday night and be in no danger of being run over,” Astrid McCormack laughs as she recounts what Brunswick Heads was like when she and her partner Josh Lewis opened Fleet in 2015. The sleepy town held more appeal for the pair than its bustling neighbour Byron Bay. First of all, there’s the fishing, a drawcard for Lewis, who often takes the boat out pre-dawn. Then there’s the pub, good coffee and a welcoming community of locals and other sea changers.

Running a restaurant that’s perennially booked out also helps make you known – McCormack says her weekly visits to Byron Farmers Market are never quick: “I’m always getting harassed: ‘Astrid, Astrid, do you have any tables on the 14th of June?’” This year, things will get even busier with the opening of their Mexican restaurant La Casita, just down the road from Fleet. Otherwise, catch them on a rare day off at the New Brighton Farmers Market, barefoot, reusable bags in hand, doing as the locals do.