Our Story

born in the laneways of melbourne

In September 2009, Di & Will Keser opened the famed Hardware Société, in Melbourne's CBD, what started as a small 35 seat café now operates in two countries, with Di and Will still at the helm.

In 2014 they had a plan, having fallen head over heals in love with Paris, they purchased and renovated their first property in France. Always with the intention of opening the first international outpost there.

Then in the spring of 2016, Hardware Société Paris opened, to French acclaim.  Sitting at the top of Montmartre and with a beautiful vista of Paris rooftops, the 55 seat café went from strength to strength. In 2025 we decided to close our Paris outpost, having achieved  all we intended to, and more, in the French capital   

After ten years and several expansions in Hardware Street we relocated our flagship to Katherine Place, with a new aesthetic and the luxury of space. Simultaneously, we launched our first, self published, locally produced book, “No Eggs on Toast”, a story about us, with some of our famed recipes. 

As Michael Harden put it, for Di & Will, exactly where Hardware Société was in terms of an address was never the point. It was more like a travelling caravan - pans and pots clanking off the back, their people and dogs packed inside along for the ride to whatever the next destination would be. After a foray in Barcelona, in April 2025, Di &  Will also closed their famed Paris cafe  after nine years, and the journey of a lifetime.

As Dr. Seuss said “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”.