Two of Petersham’s favourite eateries have rebranded this year, combining to form Tuga x Village. Diego Ferreira, the owner of both Tuga and Village of Cloey, decided last year that Village on Cloey needed an upgrade. And so Tuga x Village was born.

“It’s been seven years or so [since opening], and Village has evolved a fair bit. I was like, ‘I need to give it a new identity’,” Diego told Broadsheet.

“I felt like a revamp was necessary, and I’ve got the perfect combination—let’s do another version of Tuga, creating together and collaborating.”

The new business, which is a hybrid of Tuga’s Portuguese pastry bakery and the café that was Village on Cloey, opened late last month.

Diego’s travels back to Portugal, where he was born, have informed a lot of the dishes that were previously stocked in Tuga and Village on Cloey. One of Diego’s favourites is the bolo do caco, a sweet potato bread that he uses for sandwiches.

“Over years of travelling in Portugal, I’m constantly looking for something I haven’t seen before, and I found it in this bread. It looks like an English muffin, but it’s not an English muffin. It’s got this delicious texture, it melts in your mouth when you eat it. It’s perfect for sandwiches,” Diego said.

Although both Tuga and Village on Cloey leaned into Diego’s Portuguese heritage, the new Tuga x Village takes this to the next level.

But this is not all the year holds for Diego, he is also planning on creating a flagship store and bakery in Marrickville, which will supply the new Tuga x Village in Clovelly and the old Tuga in Alexandria.