A party was held last week to celebrate the opening of a new coffee shop.

M1LK, in Bedford Hill, Balham, started welcoming customers from last Monday and served speciality coffee from Melbourne and locally-sourced food to visitors.

It is the brainchild of former actors Lauren Heaphy and partner Julian Porter, who were struggling to find acting work full time and wanted to do something with the local community.

Miss Heaphy's stepfather Ugur Dogusoy has been working in the coffee industry for 15 years, also owns the new family enterprise.

The shop serves gluten and dairy-free cakes, home-made bread and meat from Chadwicks butchers.

There are also plans to create a blog to allow customers to share their likes and dislikes.