Great café food starts long before the kitchen. It starts with the people who grow, harvest, and deliver the ingredients — and at Groundhog Social, few partnerships tell that story better than our relationship with Ruby Creek Mushrooms.

Who Are Ruby Creek Mushrooms?

Ruby Creek Mushrooms is a passionate, small-scale operation based in Wellington Point, right here in Brisbane’s Bayside. They’re not a faceless wholesale supplier — they’re dedicated growers producing some of the most vibrant, unusual mushroom varieties you’ll find anywhere in South East Queensland.

When our chef opens a delivery from Ruby Creek, it’s never predictable. That’s precisely the point. Depending on the the harvest, we might receive:

• Coral mushrooms — Delicate, branching clusters with a mild, slightly sweet flavour.
• Elephant ear mushrooms — Also known as wood ears, these have a unique, snappy, seaweed-like texture that adds a signature “crunch” to our signature dishes.
• Shiitake — Rich and earthy, a staple for depth of flavour in Asian-inspired café dishes.

This variability is something we embrace. A dish you eat this month might feature a slightly different mushroom profile next month — and both will be equally exceptional.

Why Local Sourcing Matters

Our chef puts it simply: “If you want fresh, you have to buy it little and often throughout the week.”

That’s the philosophy behind everything we source at Groundhog Social. We don’t place one large bulk order and freeze it. We build direct relationships with local producers like Ruby Creek and receive regular, small deliveries of whatever’s at its peak.

This approach means more work for our kitchen — more deliveries to coordinate, more menu adjustments to make — but the result on the plate is unmistakable. The mushrooms are firm, flavourful, and genuinely fresh, not the rubbery, mass-produced versions you’ll find shrink-wrapped at a supermarket.

On the Menu

You’ll find Ruby Creek mushrooms across our menu wherever they fit the season. Our Ruby Forest Benny is the perfect example—featuring the incredible snap of those elephant ears alongside delicate corals, it’s a dish that showcases the full spectrum of what a local Bayside grower can produce.

We’re proud to feature them because it’s not just about taste; it’s about supporting the kind of small, passionate producers who make our region’s food scene genuinely special.

Supporting Local, One Plate at a Time

Working with Ruby Creek isn’t a marketing exercise — it’s how we actually operate. The same goes for our fresh Morton Bay seafood (oysters and prawns sourced locally) and our other local partnerships. We believe the best café food comes from knowing exactly where your ingredients come from and who grew them.

If you love a mushroom benny, you have to check this out. And if you’re ever curious about who grew the mushrooms on your plate, just ask — we’ll happily tell you the story.

Visit Us

📍 Groundhog Social, 443 Esplanade, Manly
☕ Open from 6:00 AM
📱 Order ahead on the Bopple app