Venue #37

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN VEGAS WON’T STAY IN VEGAS

WORLD CLASS

6

Column

I may be very much mistaken, but the Las Vegas Heritage Trust isn’t particularly active.

I recently travelled to Vegas with a companion who yearned for a taste of the golden age. It was his first time in Sin City and he had romantic visions of Sinatra strolling the strip in a tux or perhaps Judy Garland sipping on a Fluffy Duck in a cute little Coco Chanel cocktail dress, probably with five oily-haired lotharios, Zippos at the ready, offering to light her Virginia Slim. We’re talking about acres of neon, classy broads, floor shows, crap shoots, brat packs, and all the other Vegas hallmarks.

After a confounding conversation with a Turkish cab driver who had only been in the country a few months, we found ourselves at the Flamingo in search of such retro glamour. The Flamingo’s glory days are well and truly behind it. The neon facade might evoke the glamour of classic Vegas but once over the threshold it’s simply a tired slots hall, where tuxs make way for tracky dacks and Marlboro Lights replace fat contraband Cubans. No wonder our cabbie was so confused… what were we doing?

What were we expecting to find? A shrine to the ’60s?

Dean Martin stumbling, half cut, into a limo?

The truth is, Vegas has never done nostalgia, it’s always looking for the next big thing; the latest gizmo; whatever it takes to give it the edge. Money is a telling onedimensional barometer, and Vegas is all about money.

Pure and simple.

I stayed in the Aria Hotel. It’s part of the brand new City Center development. The Mandarin Oriental and the Vdara hotel are also part of the new precinct. Most obviously, City Center heralds a clean break from the days when a new hotel had to look like it was transported from the Valley of the Kings, Paris, Venice, or a Land Far Far Away. There’s no ‘theme’ to City Center, it’s simply clean, elegant, comfortable and sophisticated.

As you’d imagine, City Center picks up on some of the latest trends. The spa is enormous, the nightclubs are as well kitted out as you’d expect and there are some very impressive conferencing facilities. And the pools (yes, there’s a cluster) fill the space of a couple of football fields.

I know Australian licensing differs to The States’ but let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like kicking back on a sun lounge, being served something

frosty by a tastefully semi-clad waitress, and lolling about in a pool when the desert sun gets a little oppressive.

Come the weekend, the temperatures continue to soar with poolside club nights… where the buff and the pert come out to play.

The Aria’s in-room experience was something new as well. Control 4 has designed an intuitive room automation system that incorporates lighting modes, the curtains/blinds, wake-up times, TV and radio. It’s all accessed via your telly or from a touchscreen beside your bed. It’s a fabulous setup and a window into how most hotels will operate in the near future. There’s nothing futuristic about the control itself — AMX and Crestron have been offering control like this in the pro AV sector for years — it’s the integration and the sheer size of the installation that impresses (the Aria Hotel has more than 4000 rooms).

As we know, Vegas attracts the super-talented like moths to a flame. Money again is the driver. Whether it be interior design, lighting or audiovisuals, who wouldn’t want to work on a space where money is no object? But if City Center tells us anything, and if the GFC has precipitated anything, it’s ‘lay off the cheese’. I don’t want to have a beer in a bar that looks like the Death Star’s trash compactor, I don’t want to play the slots on an Edwardian carousel, and I’m not interested in a square hamburger with a side of green fries served by a Klingon. The word ‘authentic’ springs to mind. Not because Vegas isn’t still the epicentre of make-believe, but real quality, real design and the genuine article is now en vogue. And thank goodness for that.

Christopher Holder, Editorial Director Speak and Chris will listen: chris@venuemag.com

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JULY

Nº 37

Contents “there's no such thing as a fast buck.

I learnt that quickly in the beginning — the hard way” Justin Hemmes —page 42

POSITIVELY GOOD FOR BUSINESS POS Special Portsea Hotel Mamasita The Coro Hotel Cookie Eau de Vie The Boroughs Cafe Wine Bar Taste Baguette POS Product Focus

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CONTENTS CONTACTS: Advertising Office: (02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Editorial Office: (03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353 Publication Manager: Stewart Woodhill (stewart@venuemag.com) Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@venuemag.com) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@venuemag.com) Assistant Editor: Mark Davie (mark@venuemag.com) Art Direction & Design: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Additional Design: Leigh Erickson (Leigh@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Jenny Temm (subscriptions@alchemedia.com.au) Accounts: Jen Temm (accounts@alchemedia.com.au)

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright © 2010 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. The title Venue is a registered Trademark. Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy.

New Smooth Operator Dom Pérignon Lounge Sit Kit Lit Albert Park Hotel Oyster Bar & Grill Phamish Mr B’s Urbane Mango Hill Tavern La Scala Design Brief Justin Hemmes Manly Pavilion Charcoal Lane Railway Hotel Te Waonui Luke Mangan Crown Metropol 20 Questions, David Perry Feeling The Heat, Heating Special Commercial Edge You Wish

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Renowned pastry chef, Philippa Sibley, who mixes with the best on Masterchef, has just launched a new dessert bar at St Kilda’s Il Fornaio. The St Kilda café will become a unique collaboration where exquisite pastry and spectacular desserts will be matched with specialty coffee from Melbourne’s resident third wave aficionados, St Ali. www.ilfornaio.net.au Photo: Thom Rigney

Fringe Bar Goes With The Fashion — Set in the fashion hub of Oxford Street in Sydney, The Fringe Bar gussies up every Saturday and transforms into a fashion market. Since the market’s inception in 2007, The Fringe Bar has become a sort of patron to the fashion arts where up and coming designers can use their Saturdays as a springboard to the big time. A recent success story is Jon Schembri’s ‘by johnny’ label.

Launched in 2009, the Fringe Bar markets allowed Jon to showcase his range to eager shoppers and get some realtime feedback.

It was this support, Jon says, that helped him create the by johnny collection, that has gone on to be featured in this year’s Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. More than just a platform, the Fringe Bar seems to be touching on some psychological retail advantage, that by combining shopping with the vibe, atmosphere and social interaction of a bar, it makes shopping more fun.

14

Finally, after months and years of delays, Melbourne’s east meets west food temple/mega restaurant, Duck Duck Goose will open to the public in July. The Cantonese/French restaurant is located in Artemis Lane, QV, and can seat 300 people over an enormous 1200sqm floorplan. BURO architects has been putting together the final pieces such as, a central pool with a table of water guests can dine around, fine dining rooms made up as birdcages, and a proscenium entryway making for a grand entrance. The kitchen has to cater for both cultures as well as cuisines, and will be overseen by consulting chef Haru, Chef de Partie Kojima Yoshitaka (French, pictured), and Dim Sim Chef (Chinese) Takaaki Haraada.

venue has been around the traps a little lately, sponsoring the Refurbishment Stage at the Hotel Hospitality & Design Expo, where designers Elizabeth Tam and Jodie Foster presented two hotel room refurbishments completed for different budget levels. The five-session-a-day routine has made a veteran of Elizabeth Tam, who turned another solid performance at the new Classique showroom, which she designed, for the DIA cocktail party. venue made a speech too and managed to rouse a few bouts of laughter. The Classique showroom is in the design hub right across from the Beresford, and is also home to the new C-ique Design Bar.

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Mark Brennan, the new director of Liquor Licensing Victoria, has a fair bit on his plate. After five years on the job, previous director Sue Maclellan finished up her tenure with the Melbourne live music community up in arms over ‘high risk’ rulings of their venues. Brennan comes from a background of seven years as the Small Business Comissioner of Victoria, where he is said to have treated the tourism and hospitality sector well. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the live music accord between the community and government as a move to reassess the high risk blanket ruling, as well as alcohol related violence. He does plan to institute courses for license applicants, reckoning the ‘big stick’ approach must give way for more education. Sounds like he’s more of a glass half full kind of guy.

The Right to go Insane, Megadeth

business and business is good’ and they’re chugging along with the same sort of nihilistic urgency as their ’80s heyday.

In The Right to go Insane lead singer Dave Mustaine commandeers an army tank (like there’s another kind, I guess) and takes it on

‘joyride’ doesn’t begin to describe the sort of devastation Dave’s escapade has on the fire hydrants, lamp posts and Winnebagos of San Diego… it’s carnage.

a joyride. Of course,

Thrash metal and war? It’s a perfect match made in hell. As natural a fit as Pavarotti and super-slow-mo sports footage, or Dwight Yokoam and Nascar racing. If you’re scudding along the Airport Road out of the Green Zone, what better soundtrack than the mayhem of chainsaw guitars and a voice that’s gargling

razor blades. I mean, Martha Wainwright is simply not going to cut it when you’re baulking IEDs, neither will that Belle & Sebastian tape when you’re peering our the turret of an APC with your 50 calibre.

Megadeth know full well that war is good for business. Or in their own words, ‘Killing is my

Megadeth didn’t actually steal a tank for the clip though, that particular accolade goes to some fruitcake that wanted to guarantee himself a lifetime’s worth of footage on Police Chase reality TV. You might recall the episode on the news back in 1995. What could bring a man so low that he’d hijack a tank and wreak untold mayhem? Rumour has it he was listening to waaaaaay too much Megadeth.

And if the event’s re-enactment is to believed, Pycho-Dude’s wife didn’t like him listening to

Megadeth, turned down the Megadeth tunes on his ghettoblaster and demanded a divorce — citing irreconcilable Megadeth differences.

Chicks huh? Can’t live with them.

Needless to say, Pycho-Dude flipped, tossed stuff around his workshop and grabbed the keys to the nearest tank. Who wouldn’t?

Yep, no wonder the armed forces have embraced Megadeth. Megadeth is hard and fast, and when s**t’s going down and hitting the fan, and you’re in the s**t, firing high-calibre s**t at s**t, and your chick’s 10,000 clicks away… well, s**t, you turn to Megadeth.

Trouble is, Megadeth is a bunch of blokes knocking on 50 with long hair, who are protein shake-drinking, charity walk-a-thon-organising, Democrat-voting dads, who just happen to like playing their guitars faster than most people.

Buzz-cut hellraisers these blokes are not.

But they are providing a public service. Following in the footsteps of Edith Piaf, Doris Day, and Little Patsy, Megadeth is keeping up troop morale. And for that, I salute them. — CH.

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Fresh on the Sydney dining scene, Tomislav Restaurant offers punters an opportunity to experience owner and Chef Tomislav Martinovic’s distinctive brand of modern Australian cuisine. Situated in buzzing Darlinghurs Tomislav is a meeting place for everyone from locals to Sydney’s culinary cognoscenti. Neat, yet unpretentious, the restaurant marries old school with contemporary cool, boasting impressive views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and iconic Coca Cola sign — think ‘Blade Runner’ meets Tourism Sydney postcard. The imposing, rustic exterior wall belies the cosy atmosphere Tomislav has created within — the perfect place to enjoy Chef Tomislav’s surprisingly quirky menu.

Tomislav: (02) 9356 4535 or www.tomislav.com.au

The Blackman, the third Art Series Hotel, is set to open in August. Featuring an original work from Blackman’s Alice in Wonderland Series, the hotel foyer leads to two restaurants and four event spaces. The slender building and will house 209 suites.

The rooms will offer a mixture of king and queen suites boasting a combination of large terraces and balconies, each with views over Melbourne’s CBD. Each suite features gourmet kitchen facilities, complimentary high speed internet access, Foxtel played on the latest LCD screens and iPod docking stations, making The Blackman ideal for longer term residents in the midst of a corporate relocation to Melbourne, or wanting the convenience of all the amenities of a five star hotel at their fingertips.

The Blackman: 1800 278 468 or www.artserieshotels.com.au/Blackman

The George brings sleek, stylish new spaces to the trendy west-end precinct of Perth’s business district, which is fast becoming the ‘it’ part of St Georges Terrace. Tucked away in the heart of the very-British London House, The George exudes a reserve and opulence that reeks of money and the made-man.

The fit-out offers an intimate, stylish interior incorporating contemporary furnishings, such as high bar tables and low cosy booth seating. You’ll also find a Champagne Bar, a cocktail bar, private boudoirs for those wishing to clinch more intimate deals and a Scandinavian forest running rampant through the restrooms… mmm sounds like a Norska ad. A large corporate area complete with training room is also available, with a reviving bar and barbecue area to get stuck into after those long brainstorming sessions.

The George: www.thegeorgeperth.com.au

16

Helm Bar’s ‘Lower Deck’ is the latest addition to the Darling Harbour social scene.

Situated directly beside the existing Helm Bistro on the Cockle Bay waterfront, Lower Deck makes maximum use of the Darling Harbour energy with ample outdoor seating and a timber outdoor bar. Large umbrellas and nautical style bollards work in harmony with the surrounding setting while maintaining the sense of style for which Helm Bar is renowned.

Helm Bar: www.helmbar.com.au

TAKING THE MICKY – Dress Codes Story: Micky Pinkerton

In the same vein as being served by Amazons and Knights of the Bar in Italy c.1991 [see Taking the Micky, Issue 36] there’s the time I went into a pub in Trangie c.1994 and came face to face with the Phantom — just standing there in the main bar, bold as brass, having a quiet one.

No, it wasn’t a glass of milk, I guess that’s just comic-strip-good-guy spin.

It was a schooner of Tooheys New, as if he’d just clocked off from a day of defending the world against the terrors of injustice and was knocking back a few before heading home to the missus for a plate of meat and three veg.

If you don’t know the whereabouts of Trangie, then don’t bother looking at a map, just imagine driving about 100km past Dubbo, and certainly don’t blink because you definitely will miss it. Now for some reason I can imagine this scene in Cairns or Darwin, where everyone’s borderline loopy, but not in straight-up-and-down Trangie where salt-of-the-earth people work the land for a living and shoot roos for sport.

Needless to say, I was pretty stunned to find the Ghost Who Walks in this pub — let’s call it the Criterion because I can’t remember its real name — and that everyone else seemed totally comfortable. I kept stealing the odd glance and could see that he had gone to considerable trouble with

his ensemble. It was the full kit with sunnies, skull ring and the headpiece, although the RM Williams boots were clearly an unorthodox reinterpretation, yet to be approved by the International Phantom Impersonators QA Committee.

Not so long ago I saw my Trangie companion and mentioned the Phantom and his appearance at the local pub. It turns out he was the publican, and that every now and then he’d just show up in the bar in all his full purple unitard glory.

Not long after this I started noticing those sideshow people you sometimes get at events. You know the type: out of work actors with a sideline in walking around a corporate function being whacky, pretending to be a robot or a rag doll or folding themselves up into a suitcase. As you can tell, I’m not a fan. It all smacks of event-management delusion known as clutching-at-straws-in-an-attempt-to-dosomething-different.

I don’t know why I love this story so much.

I suspect it has to do with the fact that you can throw anything at a crowd in an attempt to please them — from party pies at a Friday night happy hour, to free lipsticks at an industry do — but really, most people have shown up to have a few drinks, check out the non-mechanoid talent on offer and have a good laugh with their mates. Sometimes, I think, you can try too hard — let the event be itself.

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SMOOTH OPERATOR ‘Treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen’ doesn’t stack up if you want to inspire rather than impose discipline.

Story: Matt Mullins

18

If you’re reading this, chances are you own a venue, or you work in one.

Which means if you’re reading this, you probably either hire staff, or you are staff.

What you think of each other will so often be the difference between success and failure.

When we opened our first venue, the Commercial Club Hotel in Fitzroy, the four of us were in our early 20s.

We’d all quit our jobs in the city to chase the impossible dream: late nights, no alarm clock, free booze, no boss.

In short, we were trying to make our uni days last forever. We renovated the pub ourselves, moved in upstairs with 10 of our closest mates, reopened, and set about working up serious drinking habits. In those first weeks and months we were our own staff, and we learnt very quickly that hospitality venues — and pubs in particular — live and breathe on the relationship between the punter who walks in the door, and the staff who pull the beers.

Now that’s not to diminish the impact of design. But we renovated our first pub for 30k. days we spend more than that on a light fitting. So there Column These was only so much ‘impact’ we could achieve. Mind you, this was Melbourne at the end of the ’90s. Lost-and-Found-Urban-Chic-Eclectica was a genuine architectural style, even if you didn’t have an architect (and no one did back then) and even if your pub was thrown together from the remnants of mum and dad’s collection of ’70s and ’80s knick-knacks, and a few trips to the Salvos. The truth is, in a time before Wallpaper and venue mags, before the 2000 Olympics sparked a spree of international design in the pubs and clubs of Sydney, and before Justin Hemmes built the Establishment, our 30k went a bloody long way (he says wistfully, yearning for simpler days).

Likewise, we never ignored the impact of our food and bev offering. But again, we were a pub, in grungy, bohemian Fitzroy, where vodka, lime and soda was on the cocktail list (actually, it was the cocktail list); where you kept a rolling pin behind the bar as a baton, not as a muddling stick; and where the naked chef was… well… a bloke deep-frying parmas in the nude (don’t ask, but it did happen once).

The point is, owners and customers alike, we all settled for a lot less back then.

Except when it came to the person pulling your beer. With staff, we never settled. The key elements of good service haven’t changed in thousands of years.

Take a look at Da Vinci’s Last Supper — it wasn’t a festive occasion, but check out the smiles on the Apostles’ faces, note how their chalices are full, look how well maintained the table is. (And as we all know, they were upsold from the house wine the moment Jesus sat down.) In the past few decades — let alone the past few millennia — the technical side of serving has evolved dramatically. You can’t even work in a pub these days without at least a rudimentary knowledge of food and wine matching, without the ability to build a basic spirit properly, to pull through a decent espresso, or to mix the classic cocktails.

Now, we don’t underestimate the importance of developing and maintaining those skills. But in our part of the industry at least, the technical skills will always come a distant second to those age-old human skills: the ability to smile, to chat, to care, to upsell. This ability can be taught, even forced if need be. But ideally, it’ll be innate to a person. It’ll be the way a person interacts with everyone in life, not just with patrons at work. But whether it’s innate or its learnt

behavior, it’s not negotiable. We’ve dismissed staff because they couldn’t smile. No kidding. These guys lost their jobs rather than smile!

In a recent meeting with bar and floor staff at the Richmond Club, we spoke about upselling. We discussed the simple questions and suggestions that could result in a better, fuller dining experience for the customer, and a bigger, more profitable sale for the venue. As happens occasionally, we’d noticed our upselling protocols were falling away. After a brief chat the staff agreed they hadn’t been up to scratch. We told them that like smiling, upselling was not an optional extra they could offer if they felt like it. I asked them a simple question: “Why upsell?” They had a lot of good reasons — to further their interaction with the customer; to demonstrate their knowledge; to instill confidence in the customer; to increase the sale — all valid reasons, but not the main one. The main reason was much simpler: IT’S YOUR JOB! End of story. We don’t pay staff to simply work. We pay them to work a certain way. By the same token, we understand that staff won’t work that way simply for wages. They’ll work that way when they get something more than income: respect, belonging, security, joy.

Which brings me back to those first years. Back then we hired our friends. Then we hired their friends. We were a family. And we learnt a great lesson that’s stuck with us ever since: when you work for family, you want to do your best for them; you want to help them; and you would never ever do the wrong thing by them. We learnt that if staff know us, love us, know our family and feel part of that family, they will always look out for our interests. There have been exceptions of course. We’ve dismissed a handful of staff on the spot over the years, for skimming cash from a till, or for giving free drinks to their mates. In our experience this happens for one of two reasons: the person’s got a serious problem and they simply can’t stop themselves, or they just don’t like us enough. The latter we can do something about — it takes an enormous breach of humanity to steal money from a friend. The former we can’t. Sadly, no amount of security surveillance and in-house checks and balances can get between a desperate person and a fifty-buck note in an open till.

Over 10 years, our relationship with our staff has changed enormously. Despite our best efforts, we don’t know them as well now. We spend less time in the venues than we used to. We’re 10 years older, but our staff have stayed the same age. We’re X, they’re Y (and if you don’t think that’s significant, speak to anyone who’s tried to build a workplace around the vastly differing work/life attitudes of those two generations). We’re no longer contemporaries. And as we’ve got older, and moved farther and farther from the life of our staff, it’s been tempting for us to treat them merely as expendable casual employees, imposing discipline rather than inspiring it. But there’s a vicious circle here that’s very hard to break: if you impose rather than inspire discipline, your staff will never do their very best for you. And of course, if your staff aren’t doing their very best for you, you’re not particularly inclined to inspire anything, and the cycle goes on. In the end, the cycle is broken by small acts of faith; owners who talk, help, lead, teach and praise a bit more every day; staff who smile, care, chat, sell a bit more every day.

If you are staff, remember there’s a good reason to smile — it’s your job.

If you hire staff, remember they’ll smile more if they’re happy.

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20 CONTACTS Westbury Textiles (Lilac Velvet Sofa & Navy Linen Chair Upholstery): (08) 9244 8222 or www.westburytextiles.com.au Chuck And Bob: (02) 9969 4033 Porter’s Paint: 1800 656 664 or www.porterspaints.com Boyac (Lilac Linen Chair Upholstery): (02) 9360 4515 or www.boyac.com.au Country Trader: (02) 9698 4661 or www.thecountrytrader.com.au Thonet (Bar Stools): (02) 9332 1600 or www.thonet.com.au

Dom Pérignon Lounge Laruche: 680 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley QLD (07) 3666 0880 or www.laruche.com.au

Never having worn a dress doesn’t preclude me, a male, from knowing who Collette Dinnigan is. One of the few international stars to come out of Australia, Dinnigan’s frocks have draped from the shoulders of Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and Naomi Watts, as well as won her acclaim and a 15-year run on the catwalks of Paris. And like most of our top Aussie exports… she’s originally a New Zealander. To Dinnigan’s credit, for all her international acclaim the designer has brought attention to her roots (ahem, Australia that is) rather than trying to transcend them. Her latest collaboration has been to design the new Dom Perignon Lounge at Hemmesphere. It’s only the fourth in the world; the others designed by Marc Newson and Karl Lagerfeld — placing Dinnigan, and luxe Aussie hospitality, in good company. Having opened boutiques herself, the fashion designer is no stranger to interior design, and as one would expect paid particular

attention to fabric choice. The chairs were sourced from antique dealer, The Country Trader, and covered in lilac and navy linen, while the custom-made sofas were covered in lilac velvet. Floral motifs feature in a black tulip iron feature from Chuck & Bob, who also provided circular lucite tops for the antique iron table bases, the wall lights, and mirror and shelving behind the bar, ageing the glass to suit. The wall colour was a custom mix of Haze with black and white, created by Collette and Tory Collison with Porter’s Paints. Porter’s also covers the floorboards and urns. The feature artwork, commissioned by Dinnigan, is Redleaf II by Tim Maguire. Justin Hemmes said about the revamp, “The Dom Pérignon Lounge now has an old-fashioned, glamorous feel, yet is incredibly warm and inviting. I am proud that Hemmesphere has been chosen to showcase the result of two luxury brands — Dom Pérignon and Collette Dinnigan.”

LOOKS EVEN BETTER

The Lakes Hotel - Sydney

To learn more about our The Platinum Range and our other stylish outdoor heating solutions visit www.platinumheating.com or email info@platinumheating.com

VISIT WWW.PLATINUMHEATING.COM EMAIL INFO@PLATINUMHEATING.COM CALL 1300 276 642

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Tototo

Love those Bubbles

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Maxdesign has made its debut into the world of outdoor furniture with the stackable armchair Tototo. Designed

by Hannes Wettstein, the monobloc chair is made of moulded polypropylene, with a shape that simultaneously reveals its inner curves and lengthens the rear legs — hot stuff. It’s available in nine colours.

Chairbiz: 1300 888 434 or www.chairbiz.com

The Long Isle

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Isle Lounge from Asobi, is a spacious, oval-shaped lounge, constructed from epoxy carbon fibre and can be upholstered in a variety of fabrics. The Isle Lounge has the potential to be the centrepiece of a fitout, as the large item is sizeable enough to seat several people comfortably. It’s not one size fits all though, there is a proportionally-sized extra-small lounge that’s 374cm long, a small lounge that is 450cm long and the large lounge, which comes in at 540cm long, 300cm deep and 170cm high.

Form+Function: 0438 378 335 or info@form-function.com.au

Midori

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The Veuve Clicquot Loveseat designed by Karim Rashid is the latest piece to come out of collaborations between designers and the champagne brand. The Loveseat is a two-in-one piece resembling two large flower petals joined with a chromeplated pedestal and topped by an ice bucket in the brand’s signature yellow. The first to arrive in Australia is already attracting busy bees to Kingscliff on the North Coast of NSW.

Spanish design studio Ebualà has designed two new versions of Midori (a chair and an arm-chair) for Sancal. Ebualà has also designed a stool and a lighter chair without arms. The open grain of the ash gives warmth and originality to its solid structure. Stained in a wide range of colours, the final piece keeps all the freshness of the solid wood.

Veuve Clicquot: www.veuve-clicquot.com

Ke-zu: (02) 9699 6600 or www.kezu.com.au

Gilded Expression

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Gilded Expression is a new collection of decorative furniture pieces by award-winning designer Ann Pamintuan. The pieces are constructed of handwelded metal wire.

Globe West: (03) 9585 2444 or www.globewest.com.au

Frank Gehry Cube

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The Frank Gehry Furniture Collection created by the world’s most celebrated architect is a group of three cubes, a bench, an easy chair, a coffee table/sitting unit, and a sofa in silver resin. With sleek surfaces and flowing lines, Gehry has created some very innovative sculptural furniture. Beautiful and functional, this furniture creates a stunning group indoors and outdoors. Price for the cube is $380 + GST. Stylecraft: (02) 9355 0040 or www.stylecraft.com.au

Introducing

DOLL

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One of many stylish solutions at Cafe Culture CAFE CULTURE SYDNEY 1/1-25 Adelaide Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 Telephone +61 2 9699 8577 Facsimile +61 2 9698 3802

CAFE CULTURE BRISBANE 1 Malt Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 Telephone +61 7 3254 3700 Facsimile +61 7 3254 3611

cafeculture.com.au

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kit

Audi Partner

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Audi take its brand name seriously and doesn’t like to be associated with anything that won’t reflect the quality and reputation of its cars. So when it came to a new sound system for its Lighthouse showroom near Sydney Airport, part of a global Audi Terminal concept, the big cheque book came out and Credible Audio Visual Solutions (CAVS) won the job. The showroom got 29 x TOA 2852C ceiling speakers in each of the two large display areas, complemented by 8 x TOA HB-1 sub-woofers and all driven by 9 x A-2240 amps. Control was by Biamp’s Nexia SP and DaVinci software. The result? “Pretty average,” according to press release until CAVS’ system designer Alex Smyth got busy tweaking the installation’s control interface. Then things got impressive with 102dB of flat response pumping from those ceiling speakers.

Audio Products Group: 1300 134400 or www.audioproducts.com.au

LCD Lines Up

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Hitachi has added to its lineup of LCD projectors with the CPX2520 and CPX3020 lightweight models, weighing in at only 2.2kg. Hitachi has been committed to bringing down the total cost of ownership with low maintenance features like its hybrid filter, audio pass-through that allows audio to be routed to external speakers even in standby mode, and a low power consumption of 0.5W in standby mode. On the features side, it’s packed full.

Delivering 2,700 and 3,200 lumens respectively, a 500:1 contrast ratio, and a Blank button to let users instantly switch to a blank screen.

Hitachi: www.hitachi.com.au

Crystal Clear Sound

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Big Telly Gets Bigger

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The Crystal Palace at Luna Park has received a crystal-clear audio upgrade. Perfectly positioned on Sydney Harbour, the function centre is a real 300-capacity (banquet style) gem. The challenge for the audio system in the Ballroom was to be powerful enough to handle any function (short of a rock concert), yet small enough to remain aesthetically in the background when only a lectern and gooseneck microphone was required. Microhire worked with TAG’s Tony Russo to design a system based on Martin Audio’s new OmniLine. OmniLine might be tiny but it’s a genuine line-array and delivers a stunning performance with superb dynamics and even coverage. A total of five eight-cabinet hangs were employed with four double 12-inch subwoofers flown behind the OmniLine hangs for low frequency fill.

Woah. Bear witness to Panasonic’s TH-152UX1 152-inch, 4k x 2k (4096 x 2160) resolution full HD 3D plasma display.

Equivalent to nine 50-inch screens, this overwhelming 17:9 display will immerse spectators in life-like, three-dimensional images and can illustrate even oversized products with life-size views. Panasonic has also announced TH-103VX200U and TH-85VX200U, 3D versions of its 103-inch and 85-inch plasma displays. These products will ship in December. The TH-152UX1 should be with us in January 2011.

Microhire’s NSW GM, Thomas Armati, loved the solution: “The refit provides clients of The Crystal Palace venues at Luna Park with the highest quality sound and lighting at the push of a button. The products not only meet the various needs of each event, they have been colour matched to the room and look great in the space. The Martin Audio and QSC system design is brilliant, simple to use and integrates throughout the entire venue. We can control audio in any room from any of the AMX panels — just brilliant.”

WrestPoint Casino’s Tasman Room, a large multi-purpose auditorium, seats up to 1600 guests and is home to everything from theatre productions to corporate events. The adjoining Plenary Hall is separated by an operable wall.

WrestPoint wanted the ability to run two individual systems when the wall was in place and to run a single, larger PA when the entire area was going to be used for a single event. The stage area was fitted with 8 x Nexo GeoD10s flown four per side in a typical concert-style format. There were also 2 x Nexo Geo Subs flown with one on each side — keeping sightlines clear as possible. 4 x RCF Art 310’s were also installed as frontfill for the Tasman Room. Additionally, 8 x Nexo PS15s were installed for their monitoring system. Plenary Hall was fitted with 4 x Nexo PS15s and 2 x Nexo PS15 Bass extenders with 2 x Nexo LS1200 Subs.

This system, like that of the Tasman Room was powered

by Camco Vortex amplifiers. Mission accomplished.

Technical Audio Group: (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au MicroHire Sydney: (02) 9460 6700 or www.microhire.com.au

Panasonic: 132 600 or www.panasonic.com.au

No Gamble On Nexo

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Group Technologies: (03) 9354 9133 or www.grouptechnologies.com.au

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Digital Signage: Now’s the Time

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It’s coming. In fact, some would say it’s already here. Digital signage will be sweeping the country in the next couple of years changing the way we market ourselves and do business.

First up, what’s digital signage? It’s just that: a digital sign. Any sort of sign that can be changed digitally. It could be a digital photoframe on the bar showing the beer of the day, it could be scrolling LED bar above the servery telling punters when they’re order is up, it could be a screen outside your restaurant with the menu on it, it could be some billboard-style ads you put between Nightlife videos, or it could be a a huge, networked array of individually addressable flat panels scattered in various configurations around an exhibition centre.

Don’t get phased by the terminology, digital signage isn’t scary, it’s just another marketing tool.

Think of digital signage like you would your web presence. It’s up to you how sophisticated your website is. You might do your website in-house, you might sub it all out to a specialist, you might simply have a few pages online to tell people where you’re pub is and a menu, or you could use your website for online secure bookings and e-commerce. Similarly, with digital signage, the scale and the sophistication (and the cost) is entirely up to you. For example, you can buy a standalone ‘screen on wheels’ from one of the big manufacturers, roll it out and display a message… it could be ‘Greentown RSL Welcomes Amway’s Regional Conference’. You can install a screen at the front window of your restaurant, design a menu on your computer (better still get a graphic designer to do it), run a cable from the screen to the computer and away you go.

Alternatively, you might well be seeing the writing on the wall, so to speak, and want to invest in a serious digital signage system. Why? Because of the possibilities.

Properly designed and maintained digital signage not only informs your customers, you can use it to sell to them. And we’re not simply talking about advertising your Half Price Tuesday or the Ladies’ Night, you can be far more targeted than that. You can run hour-by-hour promotions within an evening, you can tailor the promotion to individual areas of your venue, and, wait for it, you can use the space to sell ads.

That’s right, make money out of your digital signage.

Here’s how: Got a marketing manager? Get them to ring the booze reps. Start there. Or engage a local marketing agency. Tell them they have the opportunity to sell ad space on your screens to local businesses.

Next, get your screens ready. You’ll need some digital signage software. The software can be quite sophisticated or quite elementary depending on your requirements. At its most basic you’re ‘scheduling’ what’s being shown on the screen — what’s up there and when. If you’re talking about a rotating digital billboard with static ads, this is quite simple. If you’re running live TV, music videos, a weather RSS feed, sports scores and your own full-motion video advertising… at the same time… then you’ll need a serious setup akin to something you’d find in a broadcast facility. But it’s all eminently possible.

From a technical perspective you could do worse than phone the screen manufacturers. The likes of Sony, Samsung, NEC, LG and Panasonic all have someone on staff whose job it is to know about digital signage. The digital signage software specialists are also worth looking up. Google: Scala, Moxie, X2O and talk to an Australian rep.

Finally, I invite you to give me a hoy, and I’d be happy to offer any advice if I can help. It’s still early days for digital signage in Australia and you’re local bloke at Clive Peeters isn’t going to be able to help. But like I’ve said earlier, dipping your toe into the digital signage world has never been easier. Get amongst it! — Chris Holder (chris@venuemag.com)

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Lighting Bar

A Full Head Of Colour

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Disklyte is a brand new product from Acolyte that uses LED technology to illuminate the inside of cocktail high bar tables fitted with stretch Lycra covers. Powered by D batteries they are completely cord-free and will glow for up to eight hours.

Using the handy remote control you have the flexibility to choose from 16 colours, colour fade modes and flash modes.

One remote can change a single Disklyte unit or multiple units at a function at the same time.

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The RA7 Full Colour Head is a compact LED projector ideal for lighting and colouring objects and surfaces with a homogeneous projection. It is designed either for fixed or mobile installations, either indoor or outdoor, and is complete with an adjustable bracket for fitting on walls or other supports.

Hills SVL: (02) 9647 1411 or www.hilsssvl.com.au

Fabricadabra: (03) 9388 5444 or www.fabicadabra.com.au

Doltone House Get the Green Light

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The new Doltone House event space at Darling Island Wharf pioneers a combination of classic design, environmentally conscious construction and cutting edge technology. Located on the waterfront of Sydney Harbour, Doltone House’s new Darling Island Wharf venue consists of an 800-seat capacity event centre, intimate boardrooms, a food emporium, café and live ‘open kitchen’. Haron Robson designed the audio and lighting and inhouse AV suppliers Microhire is delighted with the venue, in particular the Show Technology products: 80 Pro Shop LED MultiPAR Tri-Colour wash fittings, 20 Martin smartMACs and a MA Lighting grandMA ultra-light control console.

“This is the first 6-star green-star venue in NSW and so all the lighting had to be of low power consumption with the longest possible lamp life that you can get,” explained Nick Blaxell, Microhire’s Business Development & Venue Services Manager. “However, you could not compromise the quality of event that could be produced in the venue. Consequently the designer’s specified LED for static lighting and the Martin smartMAC was identified as the lowest power consuming moving light available.”

Show Technology: (02) 9748 1122 or www.showtech.com.au

Varilite CD Lights Up

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Based on the Emmy award-winning Varilite VL5, the VL550CD wash luminaire improves on its VL500 predecessor with a ceramic discharge lamp with the colour temperature of a tungsten source, high CRI, and most importantly, a significant lamp life improvement from 400 to 8,000 hours. The VL550 now also zooms, from 22 to 80 degrees. It also features the Dichro-Tune colour mixing system for smooth colour cross fades and 16 mechanical dimming blades to regulate output. It also has three on demand fans that only activate when the outside temperature exceeds 41 degrees. The new VL1100CD luminaire also includes the ceramic lamp technology, and delivers more than 8,000 lumens, combining the functionality of a reflector spotlight with the versatility of an automated luminaire.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

www.magnasys.tv Distributed in Australia by: Magna Systems and Engineering, Unit 2, 28 Smith Street, Chatswood, NSW 2067 Australia Tel: (02) 9417 1111 Fax: (02) 9417 2394

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Freshly Shucked Albert Park Hotel Oyster Bar & Grill 83 Dundas Place, Albert Park VIC (03) 9690 5459 or www.thealbertpark.com.au

CONTACTS Six Degrees Architects: (03) 9635 6000 or www.sixdegrees.com.au

The Melbourne Pub Group knows how to do a gastro pub.

Spearheaded by Julian Gerner, Melbourne Pub Group has been busying itself turning old titles into new gold, and The Albert Park Hotel is one of a long list of revitalised pubs given back their dignity as part of a stylish return to form.

Others include Richmond’s Public House (sold in 2007) and the Middle Park Hotel (with the Royal Saxon Hotel another that Julian owns with Paul Olynyk). In 2006, Albert Park Hotel was one of the first Gerner cast his well-tuned eye over, calling in Six Degrees Architects to design the interior with their trademark reclaimed style. A few years on and Mark Healy and the Six Degrees team were back at Albert Park to have a fresh look at the rear of the pub.

As with most pubs, the back end housed a lot of the back of house, the kitchen and thoroughfare to the outdoor courtyard. “It was just the back end of everything,” Healy put it succinctly. But, after a few years getting to know their clientele, the owners wanted to make something more of the space, and settled on the idea of a seafood restaurant with plenty of oysters, hence the Albert Park Hotel Oyster Bar & Grill. Paul Wilson (ex-Botanical), lover of sea creatures great

and small, stepped in to design the menu, before handing it over to Melbourne Pub Group head chef Stephen Burke.

Whole fresh fish on the bone in four Mediterranean styles takes centre stage on the menu, and there are, of course, market specials of the day as well as oysters chilled on ice.

Rather than try and divide the restaurant from the rest of the bar, Six Degrees adopted the ‘language’ of the posts and radial shapes used throughout to create a “dedicated looser space, but still connected… with more of a communal sharing feel,” according to Healy. It has its own identity though with a dynamic red gum beamed ceiling, Carera marble communal table running down the centre and tables made

by Drew Fay using timber from the old Station Pier. Eames chairs and a Hollywood-style fish tank cap off the look. A lot of time was spent determining how to adjust the traffic paths of customers and staff to ensure the restaurant wasn’t just a well-decorated thoroughfare, and the result works.

Outdoors, Six Degrees designed a new glass canopy to shelter locals seeking the bracing waft of the sea breeze with their oysters.

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Visit your favorite QSC retailer to hear for yourself why the K Series is The New Standard in powered loudspeakers.

qscaudio.com

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K SERIES The New Standard Passionate About Sound More info: Technical Audio Group www.tag.com.au (02) 9519 0900 info@tag.com.au

K12 shown as monitor

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Hunger For Business Phamish 30 The Esplanade, St Kilda, VIC (03) 9534 3800 or www.phamish.com.au

Across the road from the fledgling restaurant Phamish sit two enduring St Kilda icons; the gaping clown mouth of Luna Park and the old world Palais Theatre. Beyond these gatekeepers, the streetscape melds into a wake of eclectic venues left by the gentrification of the once bohemian enclave. It’s this eclecticism and edginess that owners and sisters Michelle and Nicole Saade commissioned interior designer Roberta Tessarolo from Rothelowman to encapsulate in the restaurant’s design. The resulting fitout has a lot of exposed concrete, covered at times with wall graphics, dangling red rope bare bulbs, and plenty of wooden furniture and panelling.

From the street, Phamish’s thin profile gives the impression that it’s a small café with a few outdoor settings and benches for a bit of St Kilda street watching. But once inside, the venue opens out to a capacity of almost 200. In fact, the original plan was to divide the space into two restaurants, but they eventually settled for the single concept with tapas and mezze grazing, a wood fired pizza oven and a collection of modern Australian mains. Under Tessarolo's direction, Rothelowman designed a range of dining spaces, including a red private dining area walled on one side with fragrant wood for the oven, and sectioned off by coil drapery that doesn't completely detach it from the atmosphere of the restaurant. And the nifty trick for getting people inside to see it all? The toilet is right down the back.

The Saade family has opened around 60 cafes and restaurants over a long history, and now focuses primarily on developments. It’s been about two years since the family sold up interest in Giorgio’s and moved out of the hospitality game altogether. Since then Michelle has followed the family business, while Nicole worked at a number of other venues. Nicole runs the place most days, with Michelle coming in after work and on weekends as ‘downtime’ from her day job. They’re a busy pair, but after working at 500-seater restaurants, the sisters reckon Phamish is pretty manageable for two with their staff.

Phamish has been treated well by the St Kilda locals, and especially well by the old stalwarts across the road. The Saades have 200 seats to fill, and partnering with the Palais has brought a lot of pre-show dinner customers through the door. Luna Park pulls its weight with the family crowd, giving Phamish as eclectic a clientele as you might expect from St Kilda. They’ve got it down pat too, with the style of dining perfectly suiting the in-and-out theatre crowd, non-confrontational for families, all day breakfast pulling in the cyclists and plenty of space to accommodate groups. “We didn’t want to scare people away and over-design, and we didn’t want [to be] too grungy or just another St. Kilda café,” explained Michelle, “We really wanted to market it across the board and cater for what St Kilda is.”

Phamish Audio The Bose Store Camberwell supplied and installed the Bose audio system for Phamish. The Saades wanted to connect an iPod to a system that sounded good, was easy to use and cost-effective. The system had to be good for background, but with the ability to turn up for occasional functions. And given the venue consists of a number of quite small spaces, zoning capability was also important. The system is configured into six zones, controlled by the Cloud Z8II 8 zone venue mixer into a Cloud CXA6 (6 x 120W) power amplifier. The zones are configured as follows: Zone 1 Outdoor/Entry: 2 x Bose DS100FB flushmount speakers Zone 2 Casual Seating: 1 x Bose DS16SEW surfacemount speaker Zone 2 Bar: 1 x Bose DS100FB flushmount speaker Zone 3 Dining A: 2 x Bose DS100SE surfacemount speaker Zone 4 Toilet: 1 x Bose DS100FB flushmount speaker Zone 5 Chefs Table: 1 x Bose DS100SE surfacemount speaker Zone 6 Dining B/C: 2 x Bose DS100SE surfacemount speaker Bose Store Camberwell: (03) 9882 6997 or thebosestorecamberwell@netspace.net.au Bose: 1800 023 367 or www.bose.com.au National Audio System (Cloud): (03) 9761 5577 or www.nationalaudio.com.au

CONTACTS Rothelowman (Interior Design): (03) 9268 6800 or www.rothelowman.com.au Schiavello: 1 La La Outdoor Stool 2 Toro Bar Stools (03) 9330 8888 or www.schiavello.com Loop Textiles (Concentric Iron Banquette Cushion): (03) 9811 4105 or sales@looptextiles.com Mokum (Tifafai Ebony Banquette Cushion): (03) 9811 4100 or www.mokumtextiles.com Kvadrat Maharam (Wafer Banquette Vinyl): (02) 9212 4277 or australia@kvadratmaharam.com Sontext (Acoustic Wall Panels): (03) 9432 2733 or www.sontext.com.au Laine Furnishings (Wall Panel Fabric): (03) 9720 6566 or www.laine.com.au Viridian Glass: (03) 9212 2222 or www.viridianglass.com Abet Laminati (Bar Joinery Laminate): (02) 9672 7300 or www.abet.com.au Cascade Coil Drapery (Chef’s Table Curtain): www.cascadecoil.com Dulux: 13 23 77 or www.dulux.com.au Hume Internationale (Rasch Dawn Bar Wallpaper): (03) 9335 6711 or www.humeinternationale.com Apex Stone (Crystaltek Bar & Pizza Joinery): (03) 9360 0133 or www.apexstone.com.au Granite Works (Pearl White Stone Joinery): (03) 9813 5999 or www.graniteworks.com.au Ceramic Solutions (Tiles): (03) 9545 5322 or www.ceramicsolutions.com.au Pacific Floors (Timber Veneer Wall & Ceiling): (03) 8825 6780 or www.pacificfloors.net.au

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The old Mandarin Club was an institution in the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1965, it was situated at the corner of Pitt and Goulburn streets until a relocation in 2009. The place to be for the who’s who of the entertainment industry in the ’60s and ’70s, the club was also famous for its multi-coloured, springloaded dancefloor.

The building that was the shell of the old Mandarin is now home to Mr B’s, a small name for a big place consisting of three levels, three bars, outdoor seating, dining, plus gaming and a function space.

A design project from PMDL Architecture & Design, the hotel’s design was inspired by the spirit of ‘adaptive reuse’: for example, the timber floors are made of recycled iron bark.

Downstairs, the Tao Lounge makes use of every luxurious shade of red, finished with gold and Asian imagery. On ground level is restaurant Iina, where lots of polished wood and straight lines sit alongside a white marble bar and modernist chandeliers.

The upstairs bar has a distinctly retro feel with what could be an overload of red and brown, but achieves a clever balance with some eye-catching patterns.

The walls are constructed in little cubicle-like nooks from which drinkers can observe the happenings below. A delightfully intriguing addition is the shiny pressed metal ceiling.

What brings some continuity between upstairs and the ground floor is the wooded cube pattern adorning the ceilings and walls: easy to stare at, elegant and quirky enough to bring the place its own character. There is plenty to explore at Mr B’s.

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Mr B Peels Old Mandarin Mr B’s: 396 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW (02) 8080 7777 or www.mrbshotel.com.au Story: Lucie Robson Photography: Brett Boardman

CONTACTS PMDL Architecture & Design: (02) 8458 5500 or www.pmdl.com.au Bravo Constructions (Builders): (02) 96424008 Mance Design (Feature Lighting): (03) 9429 1959 or www.mance.com.au Earp Brothers (Flooring Tiles): www.earp.com.au Whitecliffe Imports (Carpet designed by pmdl): www.whitecliffeimports.com.au Wunderlite (Pressed Metal Ceilings): www.wunderlite.com.au Everingham Audio (AV): (02) 6550 7570 or www.everinghamaudio.com.au TAG (QSC & Allen & Heath): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au Next Entertainment Technology (SLS Loudspeakers): (02) 9905 5997 or www.nextet.com.au Cannon Sound & Light (P Audio): (02) 9939 3300 or www.cannonsound.com.au

AUDIO Luke Everingham of Everingham Audio installed the AV system at Mr B’s, which comprises two double columns of Superior Line Source (SLS) 6593 speakers and two SLS 215 dual 15-inch 1200W subs. Luke uses two QSC RMX5050 power amps to power the speakers, although heavy, Luke doesn’t see it as a problem in a permanent installation and says the audio quality makes them well worth it, describing them as “old school amps with headroom to burn and all the business to make a system sound like it should. Hats off to QSC for daring to continue a product bearing the quality of yesteryear in a McDonald’s world.” In fact it’s SLS and QSC most everywhere, with two more 6593s in the dining room and another two double columns of 6593s on QSC RMX5050 on the mezzanine level. The taco bar in the basement has four SLS 118XEL 18-inch subs, four SLS 215 dual 15-inch subs and four SLS 8695 1500W two-way speakers in a bi-amplified column. This four-way system is handled by four QSC RMX5050 amplifiers, with two QSC RM2450 amplifiers dedicated to the top end ribbons elements. The seven toilets, smoking area, exterior and gaming room utilise 16 P Audio two-way in-wall speakers powered by a QSC CX404 amp, and split over four zones, with three location where DJs and bands can patch into the system. The venue is set up for 12 screens, and presently uses eight, with any free-to-air, 3x Fox or 3x Nightlife channels available. Signal processing is taken care of by the Allen & Heath iDR8 system, providing 16 stereo inputs that can be broadcast to any of 16 stereo outputs at any volume, with compression, limiting, noise gating, EQ and active crossover on every input and output.

Luke says, “The iDR8’s only limitation is the experience and imagination of the person programming it.”

rohrig constructions

rohrig hospitality

rohrig properties

Value built on understanding. Performance built on partnership.

Mango Hill Tavern “Rohrig are proud to have been associated with the fitout of this tavern. The architectural flare and unique feature ceilings proved to be a challenge, however our lifesize mock-up and extensive hospitality experience were invaluable in allowing this venue to open on time.”

To discuss your next project contact David Vokes on 0417 758 956 or discover more at www.rohrig.com.au

Brisbane Melbourne Sydney Hong Kong Formerly Intero Hospitality Projects – always part of the Rohrig Group.

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Divide & Conquer Urbane 181 Mary St, Brisbane, QLD (07) 3229 2271 or www.urbanerestaurant.com

The burghers of Brisbane are no schmucks when it comes to food. At least that’s the message Urbane wants to send to the rest of Australia. The two Andrews behind the restaurant, Andrew Patten and Andrew Buchanan, or Drew and Andy to make things simple, have been in business since 2001. The 30-seater restaurant had nine good years on the trot, turning from a humble $12 entrée and $20 main course bistro into an awardwinning, leading Brisbane restaurant. But it was still only 30 seats, which wasn’t cutting it for all the costs, so the Andrews thought it about time for an expansion.

“The expansion was both out of necessity and opportunity,” explained Patten. “It was necessary to sustain my personal interest in the business but also, the reason people go into business and take all the risks is to make money.”

At first the idea was a modest upgrade to a more profitable 50 seats. But after a bit of back and forth the pair decided to divide and conquer, turning the restaurant into four dining and bar areas: Urbane, Sub-Urbane, The Euro and The Laneway. Patten explains it this way, “My drive with Urbane is that I would like to see Queensland represented in the top 20 restaurants in the country. Queensland is not a culinary wasteland… [it] can compete with Sydney and Melbourne. Urbane is designed to be the special occasions restaurant. Euro is open all day, well priced, and delivers an exceptional product, with great service in a great restaurant.” Meanwhile, Sub-Urbane is a linked cellar dining area, flanked by 100-year old stone walls in the building’s basement, while Laneway was inspired by Siglo above the Supper

Club in Melbourne, and sits on the first floor with a 4mhigh cantilevered balcony.

Arkhefield, guided by Patten’s library of tabbed magazine articles, has designed each space with its own character: Urbane is robust and simple, to provide a subdued backdrop that won’t interfere with a long dinner. The exposed brick, copper-clad entry way, pressed metal ceiling and filtered natural light reveal its raw character.

Sub-Urbane is a cellar, with one of the best collections of wine in Brisbane. It can house 32 people and was fully wired by Andrew Christodoulou of Kudos Security Solutions to cater for meetings, with an Optoma EP783 projector, Samsung H series 50-inch plasmas, as well as a Bose Controlspace distributed audio system with Bose Freespace architectural speakers and amplifiers throughout Urbane.

The Euro is a brasserie that caters for both casual dining, and has a central bar. It’s not a sombre area, with plenty of ‘up’ colours and suspended, backlit, coloured acrylic panels for high-spirited gatherings.

Lastly, the Laneway can be a private or public gathering place for 75. It was never in the original plans until their landlord asked them what Stage 2 was. That and the BCC laneway drive for the city of Brisbane was enough to get things off the ground. “The venue works well together as we have different spaces to meet our customers’ different needs,” said Patten. And is so far keeping him very busy, and I’m sure, kept his interest keen for Urbane.

CONTACTS Arkhefield: (07) 3831 8150 or www.arkhefield.com.au Webb Australia (Lighting): (07) 3870 4900 or www.webbaustralia.com.au Designer Rugs (Bernabeifreeman AppliquĂŠ): 1300 802 561 or www.designerrugs.com.au Schivaello (Molo Softblocks): (03) 9330 8888 or info@schiavello.com Stylecraft: (07) 3244 3000 or www.stylecraft.com.au Thonet: (02) 9332 1600 or www.thonet.com.au Jardan: (07) 3257 0098 or www.jardan.com.au Classic Ceramics (Bistro & Laneway Tiles): (02) 9560 6555 or www.classicceramics.com.au Dulux: 13 23 77 or www.dulux.com.au Kvadratmaharam (Synthetic Fabric): (02) 9212 4277 or australia@kvadratmaharam.com

AUDIO CONTACTS Kudos Security Systems (Installer): 1300 666 443 or www.kudos-security.com Bose: 1800 173 371 or www.bose.com.au Samsung: 1300 362 603 or www.samsunglfd.com Optoma: (02) 8840 0020 or www.optoma.com.au

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CONTACTS: Brand & Slater: (07) 3252 8899 or www.brandandslater.com.au Intero Hospitality Projects (Builders): (02) 9439 8677 or www.interoprojects.com Cubus (Furniture): (07) 3801 3338 or www.cubusconcepts.com.au Prototype Products (Furniture): (07) 3010 4363 or www.prototypeproducts.com.au Tascot (Carpets): (07) 3216 1175 or www.tascot.com.au Caesarstone: 1300 119 119 or www.caesartsone.com.au Academy Tiles: (02) 9436 3566 or www.academytiles.com.au

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Artedomus: (02) 9557 5060 or www.artedomus.com Autex (Acoustic Textiles): 1800 678 160 or www.autexindustries.com Boyd Blue (Crowson Fabrics): (07) 3854 0333 or www.boydblue.com Classic Ceramics: (02) 9560 6555 or www.classicceramics.com.au Dulux: 13 23 77 or www.dulux.com.au Signature Floorcoverings: (03) 9401 0888 or www.signaturefloors.com.au Stone & Tile Studio: (07) 3356 9766 or www.stoneandtilestudio.com.au

Fruitful Design Mango Hill Tavern: Cnr Anzac Ave & Halpine Dr, Mango Hill, QLD (07) 3482 1500 or www.mangohilltavern.com.au

Mango Hill Tavern is Brisbane’s newest family hotel, and it’s already proving itself a big achiever, taking out the QHA award for Best New Hotel. Brand & Slater spent 16 weeks designing the cosy ambience of the tavern that would attract Mango Hill families and neighbours. It’s a contemporary space set out over one level, with the furniture layout defining the dining, socialising, gaming and children’s play areas. The dominant ceiling feature in the dining area is composed of over 14,500 hanging hoop pine battens in an undulating pattern inspired by the surrounding pine plantations… only upside down.

And custom-designed branch-like pendants protrude from the woodwork in a stalactite forest effect. Earthy stone tiling and custom carpet continue the natural tones, and the main bar comprises hefty

blocks of timber stacked like a lumberyard pile with a glass counter top that doesn’t hide the raw element. A wood fire pizza oven covered in gloss red bricks sits at one end of the counter, and adds even more warmth to the organic design.

For the kids, the children’s play area is packed with fun. Xbox, talk tubes, puzzle nook, movie zone and padded climbing elements are just the tip of the ‘forget the parents’ iceberg. In the sports bar, where the adults go to play, the furnishings have been lightened up to bring in a few more female punters, and a colour-changing LED light show in the atrium ceiling caps off the gaming room without detracting from the overall warmth and inviting natural charm of Mango Hill Tavern that will serve its families well.

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White Rabbit Food La Scala on Jersey Cnr Jersey Rd & Melrose Ln, Woollahra, NSW (02) 9357 0815 or www.lascalaonjersey.com.au Story: Rhiannon Zanetic

When Alice in Wonderland took a tumble down the rabbit hole, she surfaced in a peculiar world of white rabbits and giant playing cards. While tumbling isn’t the preferred mode of entry, La Scala on Jersey does offer a few fantastic twists and turns.

A grand Italian travertine staircase (La Scala is Italian for ‘The Staircase’) swirls through the art deco venue, with a red fabric spiral by Diemme hanging in its centre.

A projected clock from Peters of Kensington ticks off the time without the white rabbit urgency, while giant whisk chandeliers, food-inspired murals, and an oversized knife and spoon clinging to the wall scream “let’s eat” in an eclectic mad-hatter sort of way.

Celebrity Head Chef Darren Simpson — who at age 21 was the youngest UK Young Chef of the Year — inspired much of the Italian restaurant and cocktail bar that sits above the Light Brigade Hotel in Woollahra. It’s his digs and he wanted a ‘quirky’ venue to accompany the equally bold menu. Another quirky story: La Scala got its name from a waiter at ‘La Sala’ in Surry Hills,

(where Simpson was previously executive chef and coproprietor) who kept calling it ‘La Scala’ by mistake. It worked out perfectly when Simpson found out his next restaurant featured a grand staircase.

There’s more down the rabbit hole at Jersey Road: a sizable bar with a citrus tree background, tables adorned with fresh harvest produce, and a 1920sinspired powder room for the ladies.

There are three dining areas: the shared dining room along the back wall features ornate pewter silver mirrors vandalised with menu suggestions. The main dining area is as diverse as the rest, with spotted gum tables, those incredibly over-sized knife and spoon clinging to one of the walls, strip pendant lamps and gold framed mirrors, and the private dining area makes good for a private party…perhaps with a spot of tea.

Annie Snell Design has given Simpson what he wanted, there’s always something quirky and fabulous behind each wall.

p: 1300 727 637 | f: 02 9796 7800 | info@bseatedglobal.com | www.bseatedglobal.com.au

39 CONTACTS Annie Snell Design: 0422 515 905 or mailto:anniesnell@snelldesign.com Dulux: 13 23 77 or www.dulux.com.au Fremont Design (Signage & Graphics): (02) 9533 8000 or info@fremontdesign.com.au CafĂŠ Culture (Bloom Ornametric Pendant Light): (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au Di Emme Creative Solutions: (02) 9550 0811 or www.diemme.com.au Lazy Lawns (Supergreen Astro Turf): 1300 529 952 or www.lazylawns.com.au Chair Imports (Chairs): (02) 9605 7256 or www.chairimports.com.au CafĂŠ Idea (Table Bases): 1300 223 343 or www.cafeideas.com.au Antikt (Mirrors & Decorative Pieces): (02) 9318 0194 or www.antikt.com.au Lightingroup (LED Strips): (02) 9882 6000 or www.lightingroup.com

We Make Seating Simple

Design Brief Heritage Hotels Story: Geoffrey Lee

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Column

‘Heritage overlay’: two words that can speak dread into the most stouthearted owner, architect or designer.

Bring it on, I say. In fact, count yourself lucky that you’re working on a site of significance! It may be that Cassius Clay ate in your restaurant, or Dame Nellie had a secret tryst in one of your suites, maybe Nureyev invented a new cocktail with your barman that’s still on the menu… there are a thousand stories that these old building tell.

Being custodian of a heritage-listed building is a delight and a responsibility. And they require a sensitivity that will pay you back in spades.

While living in Singapore I was fortunate to work on The Raffles Hotel, undertaking one of only four Krug Rooms in the world, plus working on the authority approvals for the upgrading of interior design upgrade of all the suites.

Under Singapore legislation Raffles was a National Monument, hence it had a completely different approvals process.

Opened by the famous Sarkies Bros in December 1887, the hotel was expanded in 1899 and soon became the Pearl of the Orient, famous for the syrupy Singapore Sling. The hotel fell into disrepair in the 1970s and in 1991 reopened after a $160m facelift. We and the Interior Designers had to follow the original heritage, albeit we were modernising the internal layout.

More recently, Woodhead has been involved with converting the State Theatre Building and the Gowings Buildings in Sydney into a boutique hotel. The beloved Colonial-style Gowings building opened in 1868, with building commencing on the Art Deco-designed State Theatre in 1927. A gothic-styled shopping block 11 storeys high was opened above the theatre in 1930, but was later converted to offices. Today both buildings have a total Heritage Order placed on them.

Tip Toe Through the Minefield On the face of it, these buildings are a total nightmare to deal with. First up, there’s the usual minefield of: heritage preservation, reuse, servicing, traffic, building services, vertical circulation, fire egress, entry and reception, façade preservation and window restoration. As I say, that’s just the stuff we knew we were going to come up against. More peculiar to this project were issues with the interior, related to heritage walls and corridors which could not be altered, heritage doors to new hotel rooms, distances to fire stairs, internal linings to heritage

walls, lobby terrazzo floors, ornate ceilings, bathrooms over the State Theatre rotunda and services. Once through the heritage issues, trying to get the entry, reception and lobby — all or which had to be on first floor — to function was a challenge. Added to this is the fact that the two buildings have floor levels that differ in height by 1.5 metres. Having no pre-designated space for hotel staff facilities, loading and servicing were all major issues that needed to be resolved. All these issues need careful consideration to resolve in a sympathetic way without breaking the bank.

In other words this could be the best job in the world or the worst, it depends on whether you see the heritage overlay as thwarting you at every turn or if the building as delightful, worthy of your respect and sensitivity.

I’d like to think our team goes into the job with enthusiasm and excitement. I’ve had clients and seen colleagues who have spent years butting heads with councils, statutory authorities and the National Trust. And mostly the problem has been in the attitude. I’m not saying everyone in the Heritage department is a joy to deal with, but we — as owners, architects and designers — need to meet them half way.

In my experience Council’s and Statutory Authorities are generally supportive of heritage reuse, and will try to assist. Compare that to new developments where you can sometimes be met with total opposition.

Get to Know Your Building While undertaking projects such as challenging heritage hotels there are key points to focus on. Contemporary interpretations of heritage sites need to maintain an authenticity and relevance to the original design, the cultural and historical attributes of the buildings location need to be well thought out and collaboration with authorities achieved to realise the optimal outcome; an overall practical resolution.

In other words, get to know your building. Chances are, if you take the time to learn its story you’ll fall in love. And as we know, love changes everything! While heritage hotel projects can be difficult and costly, the payoff are enormous. You’ll be part of the building’s future, not just another problem that’ll need fixing later. Enjoy it!

Geoffrey Lee is Managing Principal of Woodhead.

unit 3, 87-89 Moore Street Leichhardt NSW 2040 p: 61 2 9550 0811 marketing@diemme.com.au www.diemme.com.au

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JUSTIN 42

Feature

I

t’s twilight hour; cocktail hour… beer o’clock even; and Justin Hemmes scoots in. Three weeks abroad — half-business/half-leisure, where business meant checking out bands in London and Coachella — hasn’t dulled the dynamo. Nothing the Hair of the Dog can’t fix anyway. He doesn’t have a jacket, he apologises. Which is not the end of the world… except that the shirt he’s wearing has a rip extending from the cuff to the tip of his elbow. “Armwrestling,” he offers in lieu of a more plausible explanation.

There it is, the tabloid image of Hemmes, peaking out from his ripped shirt. The playboy rogue with a devilmay-care attitude, crossing the globe to catch a few gigs, only to come home to… armwrestle? So where exactly does business fit into this playboy lifestyle?

Or is it just that money grows on family trees?

Well, the thing is, Justin is a bit of a playboy — Keanu Reeves can vouch for that, and you don’t have Jay Kay’s headdress sitting in your office if you don’t know how to have a good time — it’s just that living the playboy life doesn’t preclude him from doing business. It is business, and he’s been playing it for all it’s worth.

See, you don’t build Ivy or Establishment if you don’t know how to party. You renovate the Beresford instead. That’s when money doesn’t help. $37m. That’s how much Nassibian’s spent on the Beresford, while $14m was all Hemmes had to front up to take it off their hands. That’s the business bit.

IN THE BALANCE To hear Justin talk about his upbringing, it’s little wonder the work/life distinction is not so much blurry as non-existent. “I grew up in a culture of hard work. My parents were always at work, and every-

thing was about the business. The conversations at night around dinner were about how to improve the business, and talking about the staff. They’re such positive people, my parents, they’re excited about work, and being creative and that’s definitely rubbed off on me. I learnt that if you know if something’s going to work, it will work, as long as you put the hard work in. But it’s not about money. We never discuss money. You don’t do things for the purpose of wealth or money. You do it because you love to do it. I guess if we did things for money, I wouldn’t spend what I do on venues. We do it because we’re so passionate about what we do, trying to get it right, and trying to give the best offering possible to the customer. Business is a way of life. It’s exciting. It’s living.”

Even now, well into his statesmen years and battling with illness, Justin’s father John burns the midnight oil to cast an eye over the reports. “Dad’s the one that reads most of the reports. He’s very much into the sales figures. Whenever the venue closes for the night, the manager then has to send a report through. We have a template they fill out. It’s got all the information on it, how it works, what we sold, who was in there, any incidents that happened, people of note, etc, etc. Whatever goes on, that goes through every department. So if a restaurant finishes at midnight, we get a report at 12:30, and if the bar closes at 4am, then we’ll get it at 4:30,” explains Justin. “It’s a very good tool for us in working out what’s going on when you’re not there. You might have one girl that sells $5000, and another that sells $1500 in a shift. And either it’s because they’re no good, or they’re stealing, or they’re sick and they weren’t in a good mood. But you’ll pick up on that and address it with the managers.”

TIME

Justin Hemmes lived the playboy life like it was no one’s business. Now he’s turned his life around, and the playboy life is his business.

Story: Mark Davie

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THINGS JUSTIN HAS LEARNT MISTAKES — “Investing in businesses I know nothing about, and have no control over running. Thinking there’s such a thing as a fast buck. I learnt very quickly in the beginning — the hard way.”

WORDS OF WISDOM — “Tenacity. You’ve got to stick with it. Life is full of hurdles and landmines, you’ve got to dodge the mines and jump the hurdles. And they just keep putting them in front of you. Unfortunately, that’s society. So you’ve got to be your number one… not ‘fan’, but you’ve got to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. If you don’t believe in the project, no one else will. And it’s hard work. There’s no such thing as an easy buck. I also believe very highly in humility and treating people with respect. It’s so important, especially in hospitality.”

‘A’ TEAM — “I read an article about Mr Packer Snr a long time ago, in the ’90s, and he said, ‘Surround yourself with people that are smarter than yourself, and that are more capable than you.’ I want the people I employ to be better than me at whatever they were employed at. Otherwise you’re kidding yourself.”

With over 1300 employees spread across an ever growing portfolio of venues, Justin can’t possibly know all his staff personally, but the way he acts you wouldn’t know it. An ‘aloha’ here, a peck on the cheek there, and plenty of glad-handing and flesh-pressing to go round the room. That’s the Justin way, to treat his staff like an extended family, even the newborns, or distant cousins he only sees once in a blue moon.

“The most important element in my business is the staff. You can create the most beautiful room, the best furnishings and a fantastic product, but if your staff are rude or arrogant, or not welcoming, your place will fail. On the other hand, you can have the most basic room, a square box painted black, and if your staff are exceptional, and they deliver a good product, your place will be packed. All this other stuff, the beautiful lights, the carpet and the furniture, it all comes second to staff. So you’ve got to look after them. And it’s about personality. I want to employ people based on their personalities, and their enthusiasm and excitement for the business or for the industry. I don’t want a person that’s a fantastic bartender,

but has no personality standing behind the bar.

I want excitement. I want actors behind the bar, and it to come across to the customers.

“We pride ourselves on how we look after our staff. We put a lot of effort into creating a happy environment for them. We share all of our knowledge and performance with the staff. We have an open book policy with the staff so they feel a belonging to the business. And if you engage your staff, and respect and look after them, they’re obviously going to perform their best for you. We’ve got a department that focuses on just looking after the staff.”

GREEN WITH IVY A large proportion of those 1300 acting staff work at Ivy. It’s a Disneyland for adults, and Hemmes is the Walt Disney of Australian hospitality; dreaming up ideas in his head, animating them and putting them on show in his own private fantasyland. But rather than privately doodling 500 pictures of Steamboat Willie at his walnut desk, Hemmes holds private pool parties for 500 at his mansion, thinking, “I should go public with this thing.” Just as Walt made his characters walk and talk long before they ever paraded the streets of Disneyland, Hemmes was living Ivy before Ivy ever existed.

Ivy gives punters that chance to party in Justin’s house — the one he designed for himself, with all the perceived luxury, variety and sexiness that mental picture suggests. “In essence, I designed the venues for myself. I look at myself as a customer, so what would I like?” It’s that work/life distinction again: “I think [Ivy’s] a reflection

THE BERESFORD 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW (02) 9357 1111 or www.merivale.com It’s difficult to keep a comprehensive list of Merivale venues, Justin seems to always be purchasing, renovating or inking a deal with high profile chefs. Sailor’s Thai has recently set up shop in Ivy, and there’s a new development underway across the way from Ash St Cellar. Merivale has also recently bought and reopened the Beresford from the Nassibian’s — successful operators in their own right — for a steal. It’s his first big venture outside the CBD, and though a lot of money was spent refurbishing to date, there’s still another level to consider. Before he jumps right in though, Justin wants to “go and study the neighbourhood first, and the clientele. I do have ideas of what I’m going to do, but I’m going to take it a bit slower this time and learn the market a bit.”

As to a gut feeling why it failed? Justin reckons: “From what I’ve heard, I think the staff and management were rude and arrogant. And they pissed off the locals, who are their bread and butter — the locals felt alienated. I think they had these grand ideas of who they wanted in the place, instead of looking at who should be in the place, or who’s going to come. And I think they upset a lot of people. It feels right. I think it’s a fantastic location, and the bones are good, it just needs to be a bit more welcoming. I think it’s over-designed, but has fantastic potential. Very excited.”

IVY 330 George St, Sydney NSW (02) 9240 3000 or www.merivale.com “I wanted it to be my ideal house, in the heart of the city, with lots of outdoor spaces — a sort of playground for adults. I actually saw Ivy in my head, before I put pen to paper. I wanted to create a venue that you feel comfortable in. I wanted people to feel like they were walking into someone’s very comfortable, beautiful house — where you feel comfortable sitting down — and the staff are an extension of the host, the person that owns the house. And you feel that welcoming, warm feeling. We don’t want to over-design it, like an architect’s done it. So we work very closely with our architects to come up with a venue that feels very comfortable and feels like you’re at home.”

of my attitude towards life. We go to work, and we sleep, and the rest of the time, it’s about us, about the individual and having a good time. I wanted it to be my ideal house, in the heart of the city, with lots of outdoor spaces — a sort of playground for adults. I wanted people to feel like they were walking into someone’s very comfortable, beautiful house — where you feel comfortable sitting down — and the staff are an extension of the host, the person that owns the house.”

In a perfect Walt moment, he says, “I actually saw Ivy in my head, before I put pen to paper.

“I’m very good at seeing the end product. I can walk into a place and see what its potential is.

When I walk through it, it’s like it’s been built and completed, and the atmosphere, the staff and the customers are all there. And I can see that.”

RAGS TO RICHES The Hemmes legacy has always been about fashion, and a love affair with Sydney. His parents built their fortune in the rag trade. House of Merivale and Mr John effectively introduced Sydney sartorialists to European fashion in the ’60s and ’70s. And the eventual shift away from clothing to hospitality didn’t abate the Hemmes’ MO of bringing the latest trends to their hometown.

Interview footage of Merivale Hemmes from 1972 — the matriarch and fashion designer whose name is the proud banner of the family business — serves as a preview of the values instilled in a young Justin around the dinner table. “How had the House of Merivale achieved such success?” began the ABC correspondent. “Because we really love it. We really enjoy what we’re doing and we put everything in it… And we’re perfectionists. That’s why,” came the reply. As for competitors, they never factor high on the Hemmes watch list. “I never think about these things really. I’m too busy, and it never enters my head.”

Replaced instead with a watchful eye on trends overseas, bringing them home to Sydney with a healthy respect for their taste. “They don’t go for the gimmicky things,” she explains, “You can’t just give them rubbish.”

Justin holds a similar admiration for the people of his hometown. “Sydney people are very educated in terms of knowing what they want and identifying quality, and they won’t put up with second best. Which is good.” And the trend of importing overseas fashions continues. Establishment was Justin’s response to boutique hotels he stayed in overseas but couldn’t find in Sydney. “This was in 1993. And in those days hotels were either a five-star Hyatt, or a pub.

I’d been travelling quite a bit, and I’d seen these amazing places in New York, London, Morocco and Turkey. I wanted to bring that level of sophistication to Sydney.”

SYDNEY SIDING Justin Hemmes commitment to Sydney is unquestionable but the city isn’t beyond criticism: “I think we’re so over-regulated.

And I think that’s the drawback for why Sydney’s not moving forward as quickly as a city like Melbourne. You go to a city like New York, where it generates creativity and encourages creativity. You can do crazy

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and interesting things, and it works. Whereas we’re so governed by what you can and can’t do here, that it hinders the creativity. And it takes the excitement out of it. This should be a buzzing city. Whereas on Monday night at 7pm, Tuesday, Wednesday night at 9pm, there’s not a ghost in the city. It’s crazy. It should be alive.”

As for the small bar reforms, he loves the idea, but thinks despite all the hype and buzz, it hasn’t been executed well, after all, not even he could get approval for one. “I put applications in for small bars, and I got knocked back. There are too many fingers in the pie. If you want to do something, you’re getting opinions on design from the powers that be on what it should look like etc.

Whereas, they’re not the experts in what’s best for the customer. People in the industry are.

I don’t think that happens in New York City. I don’t think they tell you where your bar should be located within the restaurant, or where your kitchen should be. I was just recently in Mexico City. Now, I’ve never seen a less governed city.

And, you know what? It’s chaotic, and it’s mad, but it works. It is beautiful. In the street, they had this amazing metal sculpture, which was like this huge park bench, but you had to climb

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ESTABLISHMENT 5 Bridge Lane, Sydney NSW (02) 9240 3100 or www.merivale.com “I walked in, and it was a burnt-down ruin. We were searching around the city for a large venue, to create and build a venue of international quality and sophistication. This was in 1993. And in those days hotels were either a five-star Hyatt, or a pub. Every hotel room I went into was the same boring hotel room, and I knew exactly what I was going to see when I walked into the next hotel room. I wanted to create something that when you’re in there, it actually felt like your own place, a fantastic studio apartment. I’d been travelling quite a bit, and I’d seen these amazing places in New York, London, Morocco and Turkey. I wanted to bring that level of sophistication to Sydney. I was quite inspired by that and I wanted to create something of sophistication and quality, with different options; a fine dining restaurant, a beautiful Moroccan lounge, a sushi bar. I walked in and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I thought, ‘This place is unbelievable.’ I could see instantly, when I walked in, how it was going to be when I finished it. We bought the site, and I went overseas the day after we bought it and when I was on the plane, I had a little notepad, and I drew the whole thing up, faxed it back to the architect in Sydney, and we went from there.”

upit to sit on it. The seat would have been about three metres high. And people were climbing up and would sit up on this seat, on the footpath.

And it was spectacular to see. Now, you wouldn’t be able to do that here. You’d have to have ropes around, a harness on, and a security guard would have to be watching to make sure you’re okay.

They’d have to barricade it off to make sure not too many people are going on it. All that hinders this creativity. And, you know, no one fell, no one hurt themselves; people were sitting up there, and it was beautiful. We’re so concerned about safety and OH&S; you can’t have one step, because it’s a trip hazard. How is one step a trip hazard? Seriously. It’s madness. There’s my gripe about Sydney. Too many rules and regulations.”

When he talks about Sydney that way, you get the feeling it’s more disappointment than animosity. After all, he is, he says, one of the city’s biggest fans. “I’m a big ambassador for Sydney. I want Sydney to be the most sought after destination in the world. I guess I like to create venues to build the city up.”

DIFFERENT STROKES OF GENIUS And build up the city he does. He even builds cities within cities, Ivy and Establishment are both essentially entertainment complexes with bars, clubs, pools, hotels, restaurants, cafes, function spaces and penthouses. Cocktails at Hemmesphere, all you can eat Sushi for $20 at the Sushi counter, $5 steak at the Wynyard, fine dining at Est, clubbing at Chinese Laundry, and the list goes on.

It’s not one size fits all, but every size to fit anyone. “My policy is, whatever we do, whatever level it’s pitched at, or whatever demographic it’s pitched at, we do it well.

It’s value for money, and a great offering for where it sits in the market. And I think we pretty much cover all genres. We definitely try to differentiate, it’s not like a franchising business where we have a particular design or style and then we mimic that. Each venue is tailored for its environment, its locality, its clientele. Design it for the people that are going to use it.”

PLAYBOY OR POSTERBOY? When Hemmes drops a line like “it’s not about the money”, it’s easy to arch the eyebrow of scepticism. But curiously it’s the man’s wealth that makes his assertions all the more believable — it is about doing what you love. I mean what are you going to do if you’re a young millionaire with the keys to a Ferrari and the reins to an already successful fashion empire? He could just party with no consequences, no ambition, and dabble in the family business for a healthy annual stipend. But he didn’t want to do fashion — not interested. So he went to work at the family’s first restaurant, Merivale, in Potts Point, where he found he had a knack with customers, learnt how to suggestive sell off his old man and turned a family side business into the most lauded run of hospitality venues Sydney has ever seen.

And it’s not just hospitality. His love of music plays out like a Mastercard ad: Justin the teenager bugged his mum to bring back rare records from Europe, then Justin the fledgling manager dubbed his suitably fashionable collection onto DAT tapes for use as background music for Merivale because “restaurants back then weren’t focusing on having great background music.” Now Justin the music mogul owns and runs the Jam Music label and the Good Vibrations Festival. Priceless.

Slingshot Hemmes, as they called him, is also a bona fide Australian GT Performance car-racing champion — the speed-demon streak of his ‘formative’ years paying dividends on the track.

Aside from the time his Subaru vaulted over a barrier and carved a neat car-sized hole out of a Shell billboard, that is. He hasn’t tried for a second title though, and when I asked him why he hasn’t made a return to the sport, he answers as if I’m kidding: “Because I won… I don’t want to go backwards!” Who would have thought Justin Hemmes, the millionaire playboy, is actually a posterboy for doing it for the love and not the money. Not that it matters; the green stuff grows on Ivy now.

IVY ROOM 330 George St, Sydney NSW (02) 9240 3000 or www.merivale.com “Events are a very important part of the business. The reason I created Ivy Room was that my goal is to have a venue, or room, for every purpose, and for everyone’s needs within the group. Whether it’s a small gathering for 10 people, or a meeting for five people, to a wedding, bah mitzvah, an outdoor or pool venue, whatever it may be. Within the group, I didn’t have a room to cater for a sit down for around 400 people. The biggest we had was 260 sit down at Establishment. There was a hole within our venues that we couldn’t fulfill. So I wanted to create a ballroom, which was not your typical five-star hotel ballroom, which I find quite depressing. You know they’re going to have those tacky chandeliers, and those tacky colours, and tacky carpet, and a boring rectangular room. I wanted to create something that was to provide for that market, yet didn’t feel like you were walking into another five-star hotel ballroom, hence the Ivy Room. It’s got beautiful views, it’s light and there’s an outdoor area with gardens. There are the most beautiful off-centre chandeliers… it’s just a beautiful room to walk into. Which I don’t think was on offer, especially not in Sydney. It was a point of difference. And it’s got that domestic feel to it. It’s not a commercial vibe.”

“All this other stuff, the beautiful lights, the carpet and the furniture, it all comes second to staff�

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BATHED IN GLORY An icon of Manly’s culture has been resurrected with all its heritage appeal to host another generation of Manly bathers.

Story: Rhiannon Zanetic Manly Pavilion: West Esplanade, Manly Cove, NSW (02) 9949 9011 or www.manlypier.com

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et’s revisit the 1930s… A time of high-waist swim shorts and fabulously feminine corset one pieces, when publicly changing into bathers was a criminal offence, sunbaking was ‘healthy’ and male swimwear sat at least 15cm above the precariously low position it now rests.

We are now in 1933, the year the Manly Bathers Pavilion came to life: the bottom floor dedicated to gender-split change rooms, while the Tea Rooms occupied the upper floor. How quaint! A pier was built to connect the Pavilion to Manly Wharf, transforming the area into both a swimming safe-spot, and tourist icon teeming with beach towels and modest cossies.

It wasn’t all Betty Boop bonnets and seaside shenanigans for the Manly Pavilion though. Fast-forward to 1958 and a fire burnt out the upper roof, leaving only the bottom floor open for change-room business. At the opposite end of the element scale, 1974 brought with it a violent storm that destroyed the pier link with Manly Wharf. And shortly after, the Steamship Ferry service ceased operations. Leaving the building to fall into a state of disrepair… until now.

Since 2008, workers have meticulously followed the instruction of owners Dennis Catalan and John Codling, and Squillace and Nicholas Architects to restore, extend and reinvent the glory days of the Pavilion. Now, 75 years after Manly bathers first emerged from the Pavilion dressed and braced for an ocean dip, it has been re-incarnated and is set to revive that era of simple, sunny pleasures.

The construction, mind you, was far from simple — with heritage constraints, difficulties associated with a venue perched on pylons above water, and specialist builders in dinghys attempting to catch falling debris. The restoration has been a successful, but demanding one. The venue now encompasses separate dining spaces, a terrace with an impressive view, an entry foyer that quite literally screams antiquity and bathrooms that hurl guests back to the bonnet wearing, sunscreen defying 1930s.

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Now, 75 years after Manly bathers first emerged from the Pavilion dressed and braced for an ocean dip, it has been re-incarnated and is set to revive that era of simple, sunny pleasures.

ALL ABOARD The venue has attracted quite a crew. Experienced restaurateur David Gray — who has spent 17 years in the industry and owned and operated two Manly venues prior to the Pavilion — is joined by rising star chef Jonathan Barthelmess and James Parry, who’ve devised an Italian menu with distinctive Mediterranean accents. Barthelmess previously worked as head chef at Coast, initially under cooking legend Steve Manfredi. Parry, who previously worked at Icebergs and Oscillate Wildly, was the winner of the 2009 Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award. The house mixologist, Grant Collins brings to the venue experience from both Water Bar and Zeta Bar, while sommelier Michael Watt brings extensive knowledge and has created an international wine list specifically for the venue.

TROUBLESOME TIDINGS Restoring and extending a heritage building propped above the ocean is always going to have the occasional complication. In the case of Manly Pavilion, this came in the form of a burnt-out floor, tidal zones and environmental marine life concerns.

Much of the fabric and materials in the upper floor of the Pavilion were destroyed in the late 1950s fire, making the restoration process of the space, now dubbed The Heritage Room, additionally complex. And as with the restoration of any heritage building, heritage interpretation images are to be included in the venue as a historical commemoration. So the Pavilion’s interpretation images sit in window frames in the corridors that, due to heritage constraints, had to remain intact.

If the heritage restrictions weren’t challenging enough, the reconstruction of a wharf certainly was. Construction specialists had to work around the mood of the ocean, only able to labour in low tide. Complying with nature-determined work hours, the next consideration was the marine life. Workers ditched steel caps for waders, floating in dinghys and catching the falling debris from the wharf to avoid polluting the

water. And we mustn’t forget the penguins. The locality is home to a delightful, endangered population of Little Penguins. Workers had to keep them in mind at all times and to ensure this, a Penguin Warden was selected amongst the crew, who took on the responsibility of monitoring their well-being. This project was certainly unique.

REBIRTH OF MANLY HERITAGE The Pavilion has endured quite a facelift. While the Tea Rooms have been transformed into The Heritage Room, a contemporary addition has come aboard: The Restaurant Pavilion.

The Heritage Room connotes the seashore heritage perhaps greater than any part of the venue. Much of the timber framing has been restored, and archways have been produced that reference the original building plans: a snapshot of what was conceived almost 80 years prior. Speaking of which, in the 1930s the space used to host social dances. You can almost hear the tickety-tack of dance steps in the new parquetry floor and the bulk-headed ceiling brings ballroom to mind, while Australian-designed Dean Phillips LED crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling cap off a revival of the room’s playful history.

The space is lined with sash-lock windows, and filled with natural timber tables and chairs; well at least half the room is — a double-sided gas fireplace splits the personality of the room. Left of the flames sit the natural timber settings, while to the right, powder coated wire terrace chairs are used: a whiter, brighter, more wharf-style aesthetic. Make that dual personality a triad. The private dining room gives up to 20 guests the chance to enjoy the water view on their own terms.

The Restaurant Pavilion brings additional flavour to the table. The reminiscence of the 1930s-bathing hub is less demanding here; this room is about the food, the wine and the dramatically lit dining experience, but the view is certainly paramount. Oversized sliding doors provide a passage to the outdoor Terrace, while the outdoor roof deck is filled with wire frame bar tables and chairs

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Audio Nathan Purcell from CIS Allure installed the AV system in Level 2 of the Manly Pavilion. The Dynalite lighting system is comprised of DDLE 802 MO and DLE 1203 leading edge dimmers to give a total of 110 dimmable lighting channels for ultimate control over the venue mood. Audio and visual distribution is taken care of by Crestron, with a CNX AV2 dual bus control system with Ethernet kit providing the brains, CNAMP 16-channel 60W amplifiers delivering the brawn, a CNX BiPAD 16 source/8 room stereo audio distribution processor plus and 8 room bi-directional CAT5 audio distribution processor, and a CNX PVID 8x3 Video Matrix with 8 rooms of CAT5 output. On the receiving end of most of that video are NEC 4620 commercial LED panels. The speakers are by Sonance architectural speakers with 16 Visual Performance 45 and 6 Visual Performance 65 series speakers designed to fit a variety of hole shapes while delivering audiophile sound, and 10 Mariner 62 weather resistant speakers for outdoors.

CIS Allure: 0403 456 154 or npurcell@cisallure.com.au

Amber Technology (Sonance): 1800 251 367 or www.ambertech.com.au

Crestron: 1800 827 477 or www.crestron.com.au

Dynalite: (02) 8338 9899 or www.dynalite-online.com

NEC: 131 632 or www.nec.com.au

for anyone wanting to smell as well as look at the view. And of course, a glass of champagne is as good an excuse as any to absorb the view outdoors.

The restaurant is a modern addition to the venue, characterised by stone, copper and stained timber, a neutral colour scheme and polished concrete floors gilded with marble chips. The bar is tiled in black, and framed by bronze columns, an architectural reference to Miles Van Der Rohe’s revolutionary Barcelona Pavilion, which on a separate historical note, showcased in 1929 — just four years before the construction of Manly Bathers.

The venue’s character extends beyond the main areas, infiltrating the staircases, corridors, entry foyer and particularly the bathrooms. The Romanesque entry foyer is dramatically tiled, with images of ‘Renaissance Ladies’ scattered haphazardly throughout the walls. Dim lighting, aging artwork and mismatched furniture compliment the foyer, which collectively breathe antiquity into the space. The bathrooms are a play on the change rooms of old. Cream-white mosaic tiles cover the walls, while the basins are antique originals, thermo-glazed pink for the ladies, and black for the mens.

ON THE HORIZON There is one awaited section of the venue that is yet to come to life: the bottom floor, which once housed the Manly Bathers changerooms, soon to be the Manly Pavilion Function Room. Still within the process of approval, the space has undergone basic heritage restorations and is set to become an extension of the Restaurant Pavilion.

Following suit, this part of the project was also complex. Not too long ago, the room housed a swimming pool that connected to an underground operating tunnel, which connected to a shark tank! The passage was previously used as a training ground for scuba divers, which as culturally rich as that may be, certainly increased constructive complications. The pool has since been filled and the space rejuvenated, no longer able to facilitate shark-eager divers, but ready to offer guests a refined space to hold a function. Speaking of the future, a proposal is being formulated in regards to rebuilding the bridge that once connected the Pavilion to Manly Wharf that would allow residents and visitors of Manly to walk along the water separating the two.

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CONTACTS Squillace Nicholas Architects: (02) 8354 1300 or www.squillacenicholas.com.au

Anibou (Ceramic Blue Occasional Table): (02) 9319 0655 or www.anibou.com.au

1 Hughes Commercial Furniture (So Pretty Chair): 1800 242 479 or www.hughescf.com.au

Light Culture (Suspended Crystal Ring): 1300 300 904 or www.lightculture.com.au

2 Tait (Jak Chairs & Jil Tables): (03) 9416 0909 or www.tait.biz

Feltex Carpets Commercial: 1300 130 239 or www.feltex.com.au

3 Kezu (Emu Series): (02) 9699 6600 or www.kezu.com.au

Precision Flooring (Timber Flooring): (02) 9690 0991 or www.precisionflooring.com.au

4 Thonet: (02) 9332 1600 or www.thonet.com.au

Academy Tiles (Floor & Wall Tiles): (02) 9436 3566 or www.academytiles.com.au

Space Furniture: (02) 8339 7588 or www.spacefurniture.com.au

Di Lorenzo (Wall Tiles): (02) 9692 0542 or www.dilorenzo.net.au

Contempo Furniture (Tables): (02) 9726 6794 or www.contempofurniture.com.au

Natural Floor Coverings (Grey Floor Mat to Gallery): 9960 6921 or www.naturalfloor.com.au

Temperature Design (Stainless Drums & Tile Tables): (02) 9331 0116 or www.temperaturedesign.com.au

Annandale Timbers & Moulding: (02) 9604 1555

Living Edge (Maxime Lounge): (02) 8596 8888 or www.livingedge.com.au

Heritage Profiles & Mouldings: (02) 9829 5011 or www.heritageprofiles.com.au

Royal Upholstery (Custom Ottomans): (02) 9518 3398

All Plaster Products (Plaster Details): (02) 9627 6550 or www.allplasta.com.au

NSW Leather Co (Upholstery Leather): (02) 9319 2900 or www.nswleatherco.com.au

Barrisol (Acoustic Panels): (03) 9076 2872 or www.barrisol.com.au

Coco Republic (Lamps): (02) 9647 1577 or www.cocorepublic.com.au

Arte Domus (Inset Stone at Maitre’d): (02) 9557 5060 or www.artedomus.com

REAL LANEWAY CULTURE

Charcoal Lane is serving indigenous youth a taste of real hospitality.

Story: Mark Davie Photography: Sonia Mangiapane 52

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Charcoal Lane 136 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, VIC (03) 9418 3400 or www.charcoallane.com.au

“Being on a budget like that means you’ve got to be very selective about where you’re going to spend money…Trying to make an interesting form with cheap materials was a tactic we had”

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ifteen paved a new path for hospitality training of the underprivileged. It moved hospitality-based social enterprise away from average cafes — trading off their local philanthropic notoriety and a couple of cold quiches — to something a bit meatier. Like Fifteen, Charcoal Lane is a social enterprise intent on providing young people, specifically those from an Aboriginal background, with education and employment opportunities in the hospitality sector.

The Charcoal Lane social enterprise represents a partnership between the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service, Mission Australia and the local Koori community. Charcoal Lane strives to close the education and employment gap by not just training young people but providing them with an all-round education and employment program with individual support, including life and relationship skills.

Situated on the rising star of Melbourne’s Gertrude Street — halfway between the already established groove of Brunswick and Smith Street, and just across the road from one of the city’s larger public housing blocks — its position indicates its intent. To improve underprivileged lives by giving them the opportunity to not merely integrate, but excel, by placing them in the melting pot of Melbourne’s hospitality scene. Just a few blocks up the street is Andrew McConnell’s fine dining restaurant Cutler & Co, and ‘St’ Jerome Borazio, of laneway fame, has found less shabby and more chic at the Worker’s Club on the corner. Put simply, Charcoal Lane is in good company.

“The food is really good quality and the service is the same,” explains restaurant manager, Lucy Chambers. “We want to be great so [the trainees] go through a good restaurant, get the best skills and the best experience, and go on to get jobs in great restaurants as well. We didn’t think there was any point in opening a café as that’s all they know.”

ALL IN A NAME Archie Roach popularised the name, Charcoal Lane, which according to Roach, used to be one of the lanes that Fitzroy’s aboriginal ‘parkies’ frequented. It was out the back of an old factory where men shovelled bags

of charcoal briquettes, hence the name. For Roach and many like him, the park and lane gatherings were where he learnt his history. So for Aboriginal community members of Fitzroy, Charcoal Lane was a good fit for a place that brings Aboriginal culture to the workplace; fusing aboriginal artwork into the design, and aboriginal flavours into the cuisine.

It was never the intention of Mission Australia to offer ‘bush tucker’ though, seeing it more as an opportunity for ‘reconciliation through dining’ by infusing Aboriginal tastes without limiting course participants to a niche style of cooking. It’s an ambitious exercise, and not one taken lightly. Head chef, Damien Styles, has worked in a number of restaurants and was the founding chef of Taxi, while Lucy Chambers came from across the pond, bringing a host of UK experience to Charcoal Lane.

At the moment Charcoal Lane has two courses, a Certificate III that runs for 18 months with 13 participants, as well as a couple of groups of 10 Certificate II trainees that come through on different shifts for 20 weeks.

The Certificate III trainees are spread wherever they most want to be; some in the kitchen and others on the floor, while Certificate II rotates so the kitchen staff can see how the front of house operates and vice versa.

On Mondays the restaurant closes for training provided by the William Angliss Institute, which happens upstairs in the fully decked out training kitchen.

NOT ALL BLACK & WHITE James Murray, Adrianna Wilson and Bryan Cush from Tandem Studio collaborated with Megan Hounslow of Meme Design to come up with Charcoal Lane’s interior design and pared back palette. Far from treading the ‘bush tucker’ track, James said they were “really keen not to try and create our interpretation of indigenous architecture or interior. Because we just thought that’s incredibly clichéd. You only really notice it when you see bad examples, like Aussie gift shops that have painted everything ochre, and referencing an indigenous culture that is probably completely irrelevant to the people that are working there. I mean; these are urban, underprivileged kids. So we were quite keen that it had a level of sophis-

SUCCESS STORY

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tication that was all about the presentation of the food, and gave a bit of pride to the fact that they’re working in a really nice space. It’s a pretty competitive little strip there.”

Working within a tight budget, the first item on the agenda was to peel back the layers to the bare bones of the original building that included knocking out a wall that separated the courtyard from the street and creating a laneway in memory of the old Charcoal Lane. The team then gradually built up a subdued interior that suits the dining experience. The resulting predominantly black, white and wood palette paved the way for a handful of Aboriginal artists to add their touch to the fitout. Overhead is a 12m-squared work divided into eight canvases that stretched artist Gayle Maddigan to work at a scale many times the size she’s used to. There’s also an eel trap light, as well as the ever popular Volker Haug wall lights, and bamboo floors in a herringbone pattern that’s often found in Aboriginal artwork.

To show Charcoal Lane’s true colours and respect for the building’s history, the upper floor windows have been turned into light boxes by Round graphic design in alternating red and yellow tints, a nod to the old exterior paint job. Inside are a number of different dining experiences; James explains the options: “The banquettes along the front perimeter are a slightly more intimate dining experience, and then you’ve got the freestanding tables which are more traditional dining, and then we wanted to have a communal table area and also some high bar dining as well.

It was about trying to create zones without really partitioning them off, but doing it with different seating arrangements. The high bar is probably more about snacking, or having a drink. Depending on whether you’re in a rush or not decides where you sit.”

The team were extremely pragmatic with the design, tightening the belt around the project to deliver a social-enterprise-budget fitout that didn’t look like one. “Being on a budget like that means you’ve got to be very selective about where you’re going to spend money. At the same time, we were keen to have a fairly pared back interior that highlights the artwork rather than creating an overly busy interior. Trying to make an interesting form with cheap materials was a tactic we had. The tiles that are on the bar are just standard domestic toilet tiles. They were extremely cheap.

It was more about creating an interesting form in the way the top element slips over the lower element. We did go with a special grout, because grout’s usually the problem with these things, it gets really dirty in bars.”

Ingenuity went a long way in this collaborative effort, leaving Charcoal Lane feeling as top notch as any classy restaurant. And with the range of talent on board to help out, Melbourne will be sure to see more than a few Charcoal Lane graduates around the traps.

Peter (name changed for privacy) arrived at Charcoal Lane with very little confidence, direction or support. During his time at Charcoal Lane, Peter had the opportunity to gain real work experience in a fast paced and exciting restaurant, visited numerous high-end restaurants, bars and suppliers, and found a passion for the hospitality industry. He worked with youth support staff to improve his stability, confidence and put in place supports to help him work through difficult financial and family problems. After completing his Certificate II in Hospitality, Peter successfully applied for a Certificate III Hospitality Traineeship position with Crown Casino, and has enjoyed the challenge of developing new skills in Crown’s substantial food and beverage department.

CONTACTS Tandem Studio: (03) 9600 4117 or www.tandem-studio.net Meme: 0407 860 361 or www.memedesign.com.au Tait (Outdoor Tables & Chairs): (03) 9416 0909 or www.tait.biz ISM Objects (Eel Trap Light woven by Elaine Terrick): 1300 888 646 or www.ismobjects.com.au Volker Haug (Wall Pendant Lights): 0405 846 813 or www.volkerhaug.com InLite (Lighting): (03) 9429 9828 or www.inlite.com.au Austube (Bar Light): (03) 9329 8666 or www.austube.com.au Mark Tuckey (Stools): (03) 9419 3418 or www.marktuckey.com.au Angelucci 20th Century (Eames DSS fibreglass Dining Chairs): (03) 9525 1271 or www.angelucci.net.au Deadwood (Tables designed by Tandem): (03) 9729 9394 or www.deadwoodfurniture.com.au Online Upholstery (Banquettes designed by Tandem): (03) 9786 8770 or www.onlineupholstery.com.au Defazio (Tiles): (03) 9387 2300 or www.defazio.com.au National Tiles (Call Frank Walker): 1300 733 000 or www.nationaltiles.com.au

MARC COLLIS New Album

LO U D E R O N T H E I N S I D E

• Featuring the Debut Single ‘I Miss Everything’ #1 ARIA Chart (Physical Sales) • First live tour – 18 shows supporting John Farnham 2009 • #2 finalist in the International Billboard Song Contest 2010 • Top Ten finalist Vanda & Young Song Contest (from over 5000 entries)

...Sometimes an Artist, Singer & Songwriter of such quality comes along that we are reminded of why we got into the recording business in the first place.

Proudly recorded, mixed and mastered in Australia at Studio 52, Melbourne.

Produced by TC Carter

Available now online and at all good music outlets www.studio52.com.au • www.empirerecords.com.au • www.myspace.com/marccollis • www.marccollis.com.au

THE NEW BABY

Urban Pad helps the Railway Hotel Cocktail Bar get on the right track.

Story: Mark Davie The Railway Hotel: 29 Chapel St, Windsor VIC (03) 9510 4050 or www.therailway.com.au

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unk into a tub chair, mocktail in hand, watching her guests party away the night wasn’t exactly the way Anna Musker pictured herself spending the opening night of her new cocktail bar.

But the Railway Hotel owner was pregnant, eight months pregnant, so staying off her feet and the booze was the order of the night. Not that the impending bubs had stopped her much before. The hard working owner had laboured with Andrew Mitchell of Urban Pad to get the new-look bar off the ground, to the point of finding herself struggling to hang flocked acoustic panels on the wall — while balancing on a banquette — because her protruding belly was getting in the way.

Now, bubs is in a pram, and the new mother is back at the Railway with Mitchell filling in venue about the new addition to the family, the Railway Hotel Cocktail Bar. The pub has been in the family for 25 years, and with Anna at the helm the Railway still retains its old pub style feel, just with a new shell. They actually had a cocktail bar previously, but Anna felt the design was a bit too “conservative with the last one. We do great cocktails, so creating the right atmosphere for the drinks was really important.” Having worked on the main hotel refurbishment, Anna had no qualms about calling Mitchell back, and he immediately got to work with the new brief; don’t be conservative!

Set down the Windsor end of Chapel Street, Mitchell wanted to infuse a touch of the urban tattoo and graffiti culture, into the space. Far from an Ed Hardy tribute or recreating the spray-paint murals of a brick train tunnel, the infusion is a collection of flourobacklit lightboxes with vibrant Studio Equator graphics.

The vibrancy of the colour palette all started from the Perspex mirrors that make up the bar front. A diehard fan of European design trends, Mitchell couldn’t help but incorporate some of the poppy colours and mirrored surfaces of European styling in the design. To go with the Perspex mirrors and lightbox graphics, there

are vinyl banquettes, coloured velour pillows, greenflocked cantilevered lamps over the bar, as well as custom designed lighting features made of discarded circuit boards by Haasch.

With all those vibrant accents, it all sounds a bit too candy shop to warrant late night cocktails. But the bar never really sees the light of day, so as the lights dim to an iris-friendly low, the palette is refined to subtle hues over a predominantly black and brown base.

There are two entrances to the cocktail bar; one from the main bar and restaurant, and the other from a Chapel Street entrance that heads straight upstairs to the outdoor courtyard. With traffic flowing in both directions, the transition between indoors and out can become a thoroughfare, so Mitchell raised the height of the banquettes and tables to prevent customers feeling dwarfed by passers-by. “The last thing you want is people bumping past you at shoulder height,” explained Mitchell. “With this raised seating area it’s quite comfortable if people are standing round you or walking past.”

Another element customers found lacking in the previous design was an outside area. So the offices made way for the new courtyard, which has a Fytogreen garden wall to keep the space from feeling stark, mosaic tiling covering the walls and foam sculpted banquettes, more lightboxes, Tait Jak + Jil outdoor wireframe furniture and an Alternative Surfaces crushed quartz and resin carpet that’s hard-wearing and suitably grippy. For the winter months, or the unpredictable Melbourne cold snaps, a Jetmaster gas fireplace is the perfect addition to small courtyard.

A dash of vibrant colour, a dose of customer suggestions, six months, a baby, and almost $400,000 later, Anna and Andrew have effectively created a second venue at the Railway, and the result is anything but conservative. Showing that sometimes being a little out of this world is precisely what’s required to have a little success in it..

AUDIO Dave Wailes from Mixed Bag Music installed a new audio system to go with the refit at Railway Hotel Cocktail Bar. The brief included the requirement to have the system work as a separate zone for private functions, but also be able integrate into the same audio inputs as the rest of the venue when needed. The system had to be discrete and reliable while taking the audio level up a notch over the previous system, with local inputs for DJs and the main bar. And while he was at it, Dave made a few changes to the whole venue’s system to make sure everything plays happily together.

There are six Turbosound Impact 55 speakers in the cocktail bar on one Australian Monitor XA1400 amplifier, and two Impact 65s in the outdoor area

on an Australian Monitor XA1000 amplifer. A Quest sub-woofer that was intended to be part of the original main bar installation, but sat unused, was recommissioned in the cocktail bar to keep costs down. A dbx Driverack PA+ Digital Signal Processor handles EQ, Crossover and Limiting for the system. And to improve signal routing and remote volume control for the whole venue, Dave incorporated an Australian Monitor ZRM4 zone mixer into the equation. The ZRM4 has six mic/line inputs and four zones, connected to four remote volume control wall plates, two in the main bar and two in the cocktail bar. The new configuration is a cost-effective means of simplifying audio level settings for the four main zones; the main bar, main bar outside area, cock-

tail bar and cocktail bar outside area.

This also enables independent source selection of audio for any zone in the venue, be it the DJ, microphone or inhouse BGM system. The upgrade also meant adding the capability of routing audio and video in case the room needed to be used for corporate bookings.

The end result is a system designed for maximum flexibility, ease of use, reliability and cost-effectiveness.

Mixed Bag Music: (03) 9428 0025 or dave@mixedbagmusic.com.au Audio Telex (Turbosound, Australian Monitor): (02) 9647 1411 or www.audiotelex.com.au Group Technologies (Quest): (03) 9354 9133 or www.gtaust.com Jands (dbx): (02) 9582 0909 or www.jands.com.au

CONTACTS Urban Pad (Interior Design): (03) 9533 8700 or www.urbanpad.com.au TM Design Group (Architect): (03) 9646 9932 or www.tmdg.com.au Metro Fire Builders: (03) 9878 8111 Tait (Jil Bar Tables, Jak Stools & Banquettes): (03) 9416 0909 or www.tait.biz Lounge Designer Furniture (Circa Tub Chairs): (03) 9562 6833 or www.lounge.net.au Artemide (Rastaf Halogen Downlights & Tolomeo Table Lamps): (03) 9349 3310 or www.artemide.com.au Haasch Design (Cutom Light Fitting Over Bar): (07) 3851 1360 or www.haasch.biz Studio Equator (Light Box Graphics): (03) 9510 8855 or www.studioequator.com.au Grant Dorman (Eijffinger Duchess Striped Wall Paper): (03) 8525 8825 or www.grantdorman.com.au In-ex Living (Acrylic Mirror Panels): (03) 9813 4550 or www.in-ex.com.au Alternative Surfaces (Quartz Carpet Terrace Floor): 1300 760 877 or www.alternativesurfaces.com.au FytoGreen (Garden Wall): (03) 5978 0511 or www.fytogreen.com.au Jetmaster (Heat & Glo Gas Fireplace): 1300 538 627 or www.jetmaster.com.au

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Feature

WET WEATHER CONTINGENCY Te Waonui Forest Retreat shows how to make the most of a rainy day.

Story: Mark Davie Te Waonui Forest Retreat 3 Wallace St, off State Highway 6 Franz Josef, New Zealand +643 752 0555 or te.waonui@tewaonui.co.nz

O

n a good day in Franz Josef — that is, one of the few when it doesn’t rain — the clouds roll back, the tip of Mount Cook looms majestically into view, and the 350-strong township on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island wakes to a re-enactment of Apocolypse Now. The whooping sound of chopper blades spooling up and lifting off is the clarion call of healthy business — as daytrippers are ferried up, down, onto, above and around the glacier while ‘weather permits’.

The rain is a blessing and a curse. Without it, the township’s major attraction, Franz Josef Glacier, and with it the township, wouldn’t exist. But with between five and seven metres of annual precipitation, the choppers don’t see a lot of action. Luckily for the township, there are plenty of other things to do. Quad-biking, for one — after you’re decked out in clobber befitting a trawlerman; rain, hail, sleet and waist deep puddles are all part of the fun. Meanwhile, hikers on the tramp don’t usually let minor inconveniences like rain slow them down. For the comfort conscious, a dip in the hot pools and a massage is not a bad way to while away the afternoon.

TAKE YOUR PICK It’s what Franz Josef has been working on over the years; working up a collection of non-glacier activities to build a destination and “not just another stop along the journey”, as Diane Smith would call it. Diane is half of the husband and wife management team (Stephen the enigmatic other half and GM) behind the Scenic Hotel Group’s newest offering, Te Waonui Forest Retreat. For retreats and hotels like Te Waonui, Franz Josef Glacier is the star attraction. So if the star is cast under a cloud of doubt, whether it can come out to play or not, there has to be plenty more to bring to the table.

Luckily, Te Waonui Forest Retreat has the stars covered. The luxury retreat is a low-lying twostorey affair, which is pretty typical of Franz — there’s no point in vertical real estate when every view is up. The rooms are beautifully appointed, with luxurious king beds, full-height windows with blackout curtains, the bathrooms have water saving showerheads, slab heating, and speakers for the TV, so you can shower and not miss your favourite Maori soap opera. The Canopy Restaurant on the first floor is home to

head chef Keith McPhee, who has done time in a collection of high-end restaurants across Sydney, Auckland and Wellington, before being invited to Franz. McPhee is well known for adopting local produce, and his degustation menus are evidence of Te Waonui’s commitment to the area.

In fact, it’s a sort of homecoming for the Scenic Hotel Group that founded its first hotel in Franz 28 years ago and is now the largest independently owned and operated hotel group in New Zealand. The return is for good reason, as Franz Josef can attract up to 1.2 million visitors a year, a healthy market. Most arrive in peak season, which has fallen in summer much to the bemusement of locals, as winter is the safer bet if you want to catch better weather in Franz. The onslaught of travellers descending en masse means the town has to cope with the influx, but manage like most other resorts during the downtime. Te Waonui signals a change for the township though, departing from the low to mid-level backpacker and coach tour crowd eager to catch a glimpse of the glaciers and little else, and instead catering for travellers who want to stay a little longer but need a place comfortable enough to stay through the wet. The trend around the town is continuing, with Grant Gibb from one of Franz’s founding families working on the ‘Destination Square’ development that will include a large open-air fireplace, cinematheque, hospitality outlets to showcase local produce, as well as a range of apartments.

It’s a whole new tack for Franz Josef that will hopefully see the township flourish year round.

PART OF THE LANDSCAPE Notwithstanding all this new development activity, tourists head to the South Island to feel like they’ve walked right into Middle Earth. Okay, so maybe not everyone is requesting a Lord of the Rings tour bus with a driver that speaks fluent Elvish, but they do come for the fantastical landscape. It’s a precious place, and the West Coast is a jewel. After all, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are two of only three temperate glaciers (flowing from snowy heights down through temperate forest) in the world, making it a special place for nature lovers.

Like any spot reliant on the majesty of natural beauty, humans have a tendency to move in and stuff things up, so it’s good to note that Te Wa-

59

onui Retreat isn’t the sprawling gargantuan it could have been. “The natural environment is what brings people to the West Coast of the South Island,” said Brendan Taylor, MD of Scenic Hotel Group. “So we wanted our new property to be an extension of that environment and make guests feel they were a part of it.”

Christchurch-based Dalman Architecture has slotted the retreat in snugly among the rainforest at the north end of town. Dalman actually designed the accommodation in four wings around a central courtyard with balconies overlooking a generous thicket of existing native bush. And where the native plants had to be removed, new landscaped areas of native trees were planted around the hotel to make up for it, entrenching the unmistakable feeling of being in the middle of the forest.

LODGE — NO COMPLAINTS Whether it’s because of the glacial chill, or the mountainous vista, there’s a definite alpine lodge feel to Te Waonui, especially fireside in the downstairs lounge. There’s no grand foyer, and it’s better for it, immediately welcoming and intimate. The exterior has a rugged West Coast look, with paving made from aggregate from the local Waiho river, rough sawn renewable cedar and plywood cladding, and galvanised steel handrails.

Indoors there are plenty more authentic West Coast touches that reflect Te Waonui’s surroundings. The Frond Bar is deliberately dark and carved out of the ‘coal face’ wall leading from the foyer, with fibreoptic ‘glow worm’

60

“The natural environment is what brings people to the West Coast of the South Island… we wanted our new property to be an extension of that environment” lighting in the ceiling completing its coal cave look. Upstairs, the mood is lightened in the Canopy Restaurant, with an outdoor dining deck for the brave. The colour scheme is inspired by the rainforest, and throughout the design keen eyes will pick up the trace of “a Kea’s [New Zealand alpine parrot] wing in the orange curtain linings, red berries in the textured floor rugs, and glacial blue accents in the joinery,” says Richard Dalman, MD of Dalman Architecture. There’s also plenty of possum pillows dotted about the hotel — the critters are pests in New Zealand so their soft furs are put to good use.

Double-glazed windows throughout the hotel keep the all-important heat in without cutting off the forest from the guests. Dalman has incorporated a lot of sustainable practices throughout the hotel, using natural ventilation with an automated system that controls window and ceiling fans to promote natural airflow. Localised hot water systems, slatted screens and sun shading, double-insulated roofs and wall insulation, energy efficient lighting, and environmentally-certified tapware all help conserve energy.

As with most hotels though, it leaves a little room for guests to tow the eco line. Luckily, being able to reach out and touch the trees from your room makes the environment pretty hard to ignore at Te Waonui.

Getting there: Pacific Blue offers direct flights from Melbourne to Christchurch, with fares starting from $199 per person, one way on the net. Check out www.flypacificblue.com

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FRANZ INC If there’s any chance of Franz Josef upping their average stay over two nights, than it’s going to require some serious planning. Franz Inc is the Bond villainstyle banner the businesses of Franz Josef are flying under, having banded together with the help of Mark Hall, the director of MSH architects, to dream up a few ideas that will give visitors to Franz a reason to stay on. Mark Hall became involved with the township after working on Grant Gibb’s Destination Square, and has since stayed on with the people of Franz to help facilitate a bit of spirited debate about the town’s future.

“The Franz Josef Urban Revitalisation Master Plan is at its very essence a community initiated project where a group of concerned and enthusiastically driven local business people understood that for Franz to successfully grow its economic business plan the urban fabric of the town also needed to change as part of this plan.

“In late 2009 the process to initiate change was started by Franz Inc — the Franz Josef Business Development Society — made up of all the businesses in the area. Their vision was to: • Create a world-class tourist destination in one of New Zealand’s most unique natural environments that would entice visitors to stay more than a single night as part of their tour through the West Coast.

• Create a good urban environment that supported and enhanced their experience of Franz Josef

• And as importantly, to build a vibrant yet functional urban fabric that met the specific needs of its local community as a place to live and work.”

CONTACTS

Through a series of ongoing meetings, the people of Franz have been able to interrogate and identify issues in the scheme. And come up with the best way forward for the town. Just a few of the areas the master plan covers are revitalising the pedestrian realm with better landscaping, street furniture and public amenity, as well as connection with the Waiho River, new library, child care/playground, develop intimate precincts focused on a variety of visitor and community based activities, improved parking for all the tourists descending on Franz, and of course, environmentally sustainable design.

Dulux: 13 23 77 or www.dulux.com.au

One of the unique outcomes is an interactive 3D model of the town that will let Franz Inc plug in any new developments and evaluate how it’s going to work in the scheme of things. Though the most important part, according to Hall is that, “Ownership of the scheme held by all involved. It’s always a privilege for us to work with communities and be able to assist them in achieving their goals and aspirations.

Franz Josef is a small town with a big vision and the people we are working with at Franz inspire us as to their dedication, drive, dexterity and foresight. It’s a highly enjoyable, challenging and creative process, and we are looking forward to this continued working experience with Franz Inc and the community of Franz Josef.”

Dalman Architecture: www.dalman.co.nz

Feltex (Custom Carpets): 1300 130 239 or www.feltex.com Harrows (Furniture): www.harrows.co.nz Loop Textiles: http://www.looptextiles.com/ Sleepyhollowsfurs (Possum Cushions): www.sleepyhollowfurs.com Mokum: (02) 9357 0555 or www.mokumtextiles.com The Lightsource (Lighting): www.thelightsource.co.nz Mark Herring Lighting (Bar Wall Light): www.lights.co.nz UFL (Wall Lights): www.ufl.co.nz Accent Lighting (Desk Pendant): www.accentlighting.co.nz Gunnersens (Shadowclad Exterior Plywood Cladding): (02) 9757 6999 or www.gunnersens.com.au Herman Pacific (Cedar Weatherboards): www.hermpac.co.nz

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE We discover what’s in store for Luke Mangan.

Story: Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan

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Feature

010 begins the decade of the chef. Why? Well to begin with, a research paper launched by recruitment company, Clarius finds that in Australia we’re lacking chefs. Perhaps the pressures are just too great for wannabe chefs these days, as they need to do more than just cook, if they want to tread the path of success to the elevated status of the celebrity TV chef.

Luke Mangan is a shining example of a member of this exclusive club whose numbers have grown from around 10 TV chefs in the 1950s through to almost 600 at the start of this decade. Mangan’s road to success began like so many other leaders in their fields, with expulsion, at age 15, from his Melbourne high school. However, like many other icons who’ve been expelled, including Robert Pattinson, Salvador Dali, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Woody Allen, Martin Luther King and Edgar Allan Poe, this did not deter him.

He thought quickly and told his bank manager dad he was going to take on work experience with one of his brothers who was a chef at the acclaimed Melbourne restaurant, Two Faces. So began the culinary career of Luke Mangan.

Mangan now has restaurants in Sydney, Tokyo and Melbourne. He also has wine bars with these restaurants, products on the gourmet store shelves, three books, a relationship with V Australia and has just launched Salt Grill on the cruise ship, the Pacific Jewel with the second Salt Grill planned for the Pacific Pearl at the end of the year.

COOKING FOR GLORY OF KAZAKHSTAN With so many strings to his bow, one wonders what is Mangan’s major triumph. He says, the many highlights range from being shown the door of his old school which led him to opening his own doors of his new restaurant aged just 29, through to a hosted trip to Necker Island to cook for a fellow rebel, Richard Branson and meeting and cooking for another rebel type, Bill Clinton.

Mangan has created dishes for many celebrity intestines, with the latest stomach, he confides, belonging to Sacha Baron Cohen. This party of six, five of who must remain nameless, supped in LA on sashimi of kingfish with ginger dressing and roasted fillet of beef.

COOKING AT HOME Mangan enjoyed LA so much he now aspires to opening a

restaurant there. However, at the moment, he would prefer to concentrate on restaurants closer to home.

“At home, I love the simplicity of food and the great Australian produce,” he said. The diverse and fresh ingredients available in Australia have inspired him to create his signature dishes of sashimi of king fish and liquorice parfait with lime. Mangan proudly says you can order these at any of his restaurants throughout the world.

Mangan is certainly creating food trends for the decade.

He said, “my mantra is to create a path for others to follow.” The trend for the next decade will be about simple uncomplicated foods. The jellies and foams and what we have termed ‘scientific cooking’ have come to an end. We will see a lot more of the traditional home cooked style of food being served.

Mangan puts his credo of simplicity and elegance on each dish to conquer cultures worldwide. Russia is also in his sights. He will be promoting Australian food in some of the 30 restaurants owned by the Terence Conran of Moscow, Arkady Novikov. Even in Moscow, Mangan will be serving up Australian produce, flying over whole fish and Australian beef for a Russian version of Babette’s feast.

GLASS & PALACE Yet as a Sydneysider or Melbournian you only need head to Glass or the newly opened The Palace to taste these divine creations.

Why The Palace? Why Melbourne? When searching for a venue, Mangan says he opens in a city he likes to visit, such as Tokyo, San Francisco, Sydney (where he now lives) and Melbourne (where he used to live). He said, “Of course a water location is great but for me, once I have chosen a city, the venue location is not the most important aspect when opening a restaurant. If you have a great product, people will come.”

True to his word, The Palace, stuck in the middle of nowhere in South Melbourne with almost no foot traffic is bringing in the crowds with its sharp service, tasty food and image of Mangan on the side of the building.

So what is the Mangan secret to food? How can one emulate Mangan? He whispers down the phone: “The secret is … always taste everything before you serve it. Home cooks don’t taste enough.”

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“If you have a great product, people will come”

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66

Feature

CROWN METROPOL

Last issue we gave you the skinny on the Metropol.

This issue we delve deeper into the design.

STORY: CHRISTOPHER HOLDER Crown Metropol 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank VIC (03) 9292 6211 or www.crownmetropol.com.au

I

t’s easy to forget that there was a time there when Gordon Ramsay was on our TV screens more than Eddie ‘Everywhere’ Maguire, and more famous than The Wiggles and Tim Cahill combined. And at one point it seemed that Gordon’s trademark “f**k off” was knocking ‘strewth’ and ‘bewdy’ off their perch as Australia’s preferred catch cries. Now the foulmouthed Scot’s ubiquity has waned somewhat, some perspective is in order.

If you can look beyond Ramsay’s freshly ploughed forehead and guttersnipe vocabulary, you’re left with a chap who’s a dab hand in the kitchen and someone who genuinely cares — about quality, food and reputations.

So why introduce a story about the biggest, most expensive new hotel development we’ve seen in Australia for years with a note about the bloke who runs the house restaurant, Maze? Good point! And I think that is exactly my point. Yes, Maze is a great looking restaurant serving up some posh nosh, but there’s another 30-odd floors to talk about here.

But rather than go over old ground (Mark Davie more than adequately delivered the Metropol facts last issue, including the very worthy Crown College initiative) I thought I’d explore the spaces with a handful of annotated photos and some assistance from Bates Smart Associate Director Kendra Pinkus who poured much of her heart and soul into the design.

2

The ground floor lobby sets the tone for Metropol. The electric pink of the bespoke, quirky carpet sets off the otherwise pervasive, calming neutral colour scheme. The staircase is big, bold and unabashedly modern, like the building itself. It also illustrates the unorthodox shapes and curves you’ll find throughout.

Ground Floor Hotel Lobby 1

Ascraft Textiles & Wallcoverings (Nya Nordiska Textiles): (02) 9360 2311

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Hub Furniture (Moroso Smock Armchair & Moroso T-Phoenix Table): (03) 9652 1222 or www.hubfurniture.com.au

3

Format Furniture (SpHaus Bucket Armchair): (03) 9639 6060 or www.@formatfurniture.com

4

Brintons Carpets: (designed by NIBA Rugs & Bates Smart): www.brintons.com.au

5

Banquette Seating: Custom designed by Bates Smart

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The 28th Floor Club Lounge is like some funky bachelor pad. Groovy furniture, surprising art installations (a bookcase of entirely blue volumes… not for reading), a fireplace, outdoor terrace with tree stump stools… love it.

The bar itself will be a hip destination in itself. Not staying at the Metropol? On the weekend you’ll simply need to wave and smile and they’ll allow you up to experience the views and the atmosphere.

Level 28 Club Lounge 1

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Space Furniture: Foscarini Twiggy lamp (02) 8339 7588 or www.spacefurniture.com.au

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Banquette Seating (Custom designed by Bates Smart)

3

The Good House (Fireplace): (03) 9421 3400 Real Flame (Burner): 03 8706 2000 or www.realflame.com.au

4

Format Furniture (Artelano Glass-8 Round Coffee Table): (03) 9639 6060 or www.@formatfurniture.com

5

Hub Furniture (Moroso Fjord Armchair): (03) 9652 1222 or www.hubfurniture.com.au

6

Brintons Carpets: (designed by NIBA Rugs & Bates Smart): www.brintons.com.au

7

Hub Furniture (Moroso Antibodi Armchair with Flowers): (03) 9652 1222 or www.hubfurniture.com.au

4 7 5

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1

Maze is designed to be just as eye-catching for lunch as it is deep into the night. The oversized Foscarini pendants are a familiar design — Italian lighting maestros put them on steroids especially for the occasion. Bespoke screens shield diners from others while at the same time allowing guests to soak up the restaurant’s beehive-like atmosphere.

The mural is a nice addition as are the ceramic inlays to the tables.

4

Maze by Gordon Ramsay — Formal Dining 1

Harkness Agency (Hemptech fabric; Pattern: Rimini; Colour: Mocha): 0417 055 505 (Wanda Harkness) or wanda@harknessagencies.com.au

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Brintons Carpets: (designed by NIBA Rugs & Bates Smart): www.brintons.com.au

3

Space Furniture: Foscarini Allegro: (02) 8339 7588 or www.spacefurniture.com.au

4

Mahon & Band (’Birch Trees’ Mural): (03) 9595 9822

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Custom designed table by Bates Smart Ceramic tile artist: Brian Keyte Supplier (ceramic tile): Skepsi Gallery

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Schiavello: (Custom Designed Banquettes by Bates Smart): (03) 9330 8888 or www.schiavello.com.au

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5

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Nothing pokey about the pool area. Its double height provides the space for these impressive pool pendants.

At night I can’t think of a more stunning place to do the dog paddle. Best reserve a daybed.

Level 27 Health Club — Pool Area 1

Design Sense (Pool Pendants designed by Bates Smart): (03) 9357 2464 or www.designsense.com.au

2

Cosh Living (Sahara Stackable Sunlounge): (03) 9281 1999 or www.coshliving.com

3

Satara Living (Bukawu Chillout Daybed): (03) 9587 4469 or info@satara.com.au

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We’ve got a fantastic team here and everyone is committed to creating history every day they come to work.

The Oberoi Group had this hotel on the market for five years or so. Anyone in the industry knows that a hotel that’s a 126 years old is going to be quite a handful, especially with all the heritage issues.

You’re almost a custodian of a hotel than an owner because it’s a national treasure and when your pipes are made of cast iron and they’re 126 years old… well, all I can say is, rust is alive and kicking in Melbourne.

What we have as a brand is the most gorgeous Victorian grand hotel in the country — a hotel that predates The Savoy in London and The Ritz in Paris. The whole brand relies on this heritage hotel being presented at its authentic best.

If you change that, you’ve just shot yourself in both your feet, arms and head. We have to preserve and bring back the glamour. And then because of the amount of the investment, we need to add new rooms to make it economically viable.

This used to be where every movie star stayed in Melbourne, where every head of state stayed, and it did that by being right for its time. Because it hasn’t changed, the movie stars don’t stay here anymore, and the heads of state don’t, so we need to bring it up to be right for its time. And that’s what grand hotels of the world do.

When you have Muhammed Ali stay here, Dame Nellie Melba visit many times, Barry Humphries in the early days, Sir Laurence Olivier, Vivian Leigh, Sir Anthony Hopkins, all these people. Every room and corridor has a beautiful story to tell.

All competitors from the 1970s have been knocked down.

Last week we had our two millionth afternoon tea served. Coincidence would have it that the two millionth customer was celebrating her 103rd birthday. And she survived the news when she was told! She used to come to the hotel in her 20s and 30s for drinks at five. She waited until she was 103 to have her afternoon tea and she won a night in the Royal Suite.

Q

20 uestions with

David Perry

General Manager of Australia's oldest hotel, The Hotel Windsor The enigmatic UK-born GM has spent five years with the 126-year old dame. Now independently run by the Halim Family, recent approvals for demolition of the 1960s-built wing and plans for the addition of a new tower has brought plenty of criticism. Perry provides the inside story over a cup of Windsor-blend tea and a ‘century old’ scone.

Our scone recipe has been passed on from executive pastry chef to executive pastry chef for 126 years. There is a safe. It has two keys. I have one. The executive chef has another.

A large number of staff have been here for many, many years. A butler has been with us 33 years. The waiter here this morning at breakfast has been here 17 years. They remember times when this was home to the stars. And when you’re home to the stars you’re very proud.

This hotel desperately needs refurbishment but I can tell you the guest comments we get are the highest I’ve ever experienced anywhere in the world.

We’re 180 rooms and suites now, and we’re upgrading to around 300. In fact the hotel originally had 400 rooms when it operated in the late nineteenth century.

I think if you went out and said to the people of Melbourne on the street, “Do you think they should be allowed to build a big tower on top of the Hotel Windsor?” Most would look at you in horror and go, “You’ve got to be kidding. Over my dead body.”

However if the question to the person on the street was, “Would you like to remove the ‘60s wing, which is made of concrete and aluminium frame windows and full of tiny rooms with internal courtyard views. Replace it with a new building next to it, along with a beautiful thin glass-fronted tower — with the additional rooms required to make the hotel economically viable — located at the rear of the heritage wing, 25m back from Spring Street. And in so doing, ensure the future and return the hotel to being one of the best in the world?” They’re probably going to say, “Yes, that sounds fantastic!”

There’s plenty of support for this project: Heritage Victoria has approved it, the DPCD has approved it, the Lord-Mayor has come out in support of it, the Government supports it, the State architect has come out and supported it — there’s support right across the board. Even the National Trust supported the demolition of the ‘60s wing and the building of a tower at the back.

Every other Victorian hotel here has been knocked down by the wrecking ball of the 1970s and it hasn’t happened here and we don’t want it to.

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Positively Good For Business Story: Lucie Robson

P.O.SAL SPECI

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A good point of sale system is the oil in the engine of a smooth-running venue. With the ability to not just calculate orders but keep track of stock, costs and what all elements of the business are doing at any one time, modern POS systems do the work for you and end up paying for themselves in good time.

There is a huge range of systems available for many different types of hospitality businesses. Cafes, restaurants, pubs, hotels and takeaway franchises all have different needs and it’s exciting to know that there is something out there for everyone. It’s clear that taking the time to do your research and find the system that fits best pays off. We had a chat to some of the folks from well-known venues around Australia to investigate how their POS systems work for them.

Matt Lane from Mamasita did the maths and found that he couldn’t afford not to invest in POS. Madeleine Cheah from the Taste Baguette chain in Sydney appreciates the way the POS she chose can be customised for different stores, and says her staff have become more efficient. And Mikey Roszbach from Cookie says his system’s memory is astounding. “I can chart a night on an hourly basis and compare it to the same date last year on an hour-to-hour basis.” Chris Willis from the Coro in Brisbane says that stocktake time has been halved, and Laura Morgan from The Boroughs Cafe Wine Bar says that being able to manipulate and edit the POS system herself is definitely handy.

POS systems may have once been a mere step up from a till and order pads, but with the capabilities and ease of use of today’s systems no venue needs to, or should, struggle with the extra work of a manual system anymore.

Read on to discover how modern POS systems are changing Australian venues in 2010, you can’t afford not to.

Andrew Henderson The Portsea Hotel. VIC System: RedCat 1300 473 322 or www.redcat.com.au

Andrew says the crew at the Portsea Hotel decided on the RedCat POS and Back of House Smart Rest after considering a whole range of different technologies. “After looking at a great number of systems we found RedCat offered best flexibility and ease of use.”

Ten years in use at the Portsea Hotel is a testament to Redcat’s reputable customer service and software updates. Andrew said, “We use it for everything: POS, back of house, the Smartwages system. It’s our live accounting system, and does all our P&Ls. It keeps track of all the stock for the whole hotel and provides us with stock records, stock keeping and reconciliation. The biggest advantages have been the pre-programmed reports, and cash and stock control.” The staff are constantly changing at the Portsea, so ease of use is also important. The Portsea also runs a loyalty program through its RedCat system, where hotel members can rack up points and redeem them on any item in the hotel, and it works a charm according to Andrew.

When asked for a couple of key areas where RedCat POS has made life easier at the Portsea, Andrew’s answer is clear: “Speed of updating things like PLUs and prices, and RedCat’s ability to keep you up with current legislation.”

P.O.S L SPECIA

Matt Lane Mamasita, Melbourne System: Macro Solutions 1300 667 575 or www.macropos.com.au/venue

Past experience with Macro Solutions, and its user-friendly navigation and programming configurability encouraged Matt Lane to turn to them again for his new Mexican hotspot in Melbourne. “The Macro team all consist of ex-hospitality professionals, not just IT techs, and it gives Macro a definite advantage,” he said. Matt believes that efficiency, accountability and time management are the most important elements of a POS system for a business like his.

“The increased efficiency, hence profits, is easily measured when using a POS system in comparison to manual dockets, which increased the legwork and increased human error,” he says. “[The level of] accountability of stock, sales and employee reports is [astounding] in comparison to an operation requiring hours of manual paperwork.”

The investment in a brand new system has paid off. “After generating a cash forecast comparing the old system to the new simply in missed orders and/or missing dockets alone, we were able to justify purchasing the POS system. Our calculation showed that within 18 months we would have paid for the system in missing or forgotten orders alone,” says Matt.

The clincher for Mamasita choosing this particular system, as previously mentioned, was the back-up service offered by the Macro team: “After 20 years experience, and having used these systems both here and overseas, I can highly recommend Macro as a leader in POS systems.”

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Chris Willis The Coro Hotel/Lure Seafood Restaurant, Brisbane System: Fedelta 1300 652 029 or www.fedeltapos.com

“I wasn’t in a hurry to get a new system but the old system was on its way out. I spent a good deal of time thoroughly researching and participating in product demonstrations prior to making a choice. In the end I chose Fedelta for a few important reasons: the system was very simple at a Front of House level, products were easy to find on the till and the system could be totally controlled by my managers and myself when changes needed to be made. It’s a fast system, but its operational simplicity and management control were the main reasons for the choice.

The Coro Hotel/Lure Seafood Restaurant has many outlets including two kitchens serviced by table waiters. It’s essential that the waiters have clear, speedy and accurate communication with the kitchen through the POS system to alleviate mistakes being made.

I have found that with other complicated systems too much time is spent controlling stock variances. For example; a staff member can’t find a particular product on the till, so instead, they ring up another product, and now two products will be out at stocktake time. Our stocktake time has been halved using the Fedelta System, and it’s just a much easier process to find errors and variances. The daily processes are also quite easy to read and understand allowing for easy bank reconciliation.”

P.O.S L SPECIA

Mikey Roszbach Cookie, Melbourne VIC System: Vectron Systems 1300 789 366 or www.vectron.com.au

“We migrated to this system from another modern system due to several things. The biggest being the stability, flexibility and usability of the POS itself, and the continuing good relationship we had with Vectron after first putting in an earlier incarnation of Vectron System — the JETZ system.

“The more I use the processes and tools inherent in the back end, the more I get out of it. I can chart a night on an hourly basis and compare it to the same date last year on an hour-to-hour basis, or in fact the same day (say the second Saturday in May) this time last year. More so, the support and down-to-earth understanding from the team at Vectron is top notch.

“At Cookie we have a massive stock list: something upwards of 3000 items entered on the POS. Vectron allows us the flexibility to easily manage, display and keep track of all that stock as well as making entering items, condiments and stock an absolute breeze. The amount of support information incorporated into the POS (such as a recipe and graphical data) makes it a dream to work with, even with new staff.

“With Vectron linked with AXEZE wristbands we can make the whole venue completely accountable. We know who is selling what, where, how much for and how much we have left. As well as this, and this is crucial, the speed at the bar can never be compromised by something as pivotal as the till system. The previous system we moved from had some stability issues and there is nothing more frustrating than watching people pull out pens and paper when you have a till system worth tens of thousands of dollars just sitting there blinking at you. Vectron even has local machine stability, so if lightning was to strike (touch wood) the individual tills still operate stand-alone, until you can get the rest up and running.

“There is not a consistent worry about the system. It works. It’s powerful.

It has just made my working life so much easier.”

POS & Business Management Solutions

“After 20 years experience, and having used systems both here and overseas, I can highly recommend Macro as a leader in POS.” Matt Lane, Mamasita

Contact us

1300 66 75 75

www.macropos.com.au/venue Find information, video demo’s, screen shots and more at our new website

Barry Chalmers Eau de Vie, Darlinghurst NSW System: Impos 1300 780 268 or www.impos.com.au

For his recently opened ‘speakeasy’ style cocktail bar, tucked away behind the Kirketon Hotel, Barry found ImPOS an easy choice to make. The cost and ease of use from a front-of-house perspective were big drawcards. “The system has to be fast for the busy periods, to allow for maximum revenue intake,” he says. “Telephone & Remote support and the ability to add items to the terminal on the spot with any changes instantly appearing on every terminal” he lists as the biggest advantages of ImPOS. ImPOS ensures peace of mind that the business will keep running and the drinks keep coming. “In the past I have worked with systems which have crashed on a regular basis,” he explains. “This proves to be a massive problem, as it is invariably at the weekend because of an overload. To date ImPOS has been smooth and easy to use, the back of house reports are all web-based which means as soon as a sale is done it is viewable off-site with ease. Not having to worry about the system is very handy.”

P.O.S L SPECIA

Laura Morgan The Boroughs Cafe Wine Bar, Scarborough QLD System: Uniwell (02) 9651 7355 or www.uniwell.net.au

“We previously had the Uniwell DX890 and so it was a brand we knew well and have always had good results with. The Uniwell AX3000 is the latest model and has been built with 30 years experience. It’s user friendly so our staff pick it up very easy, and the stock control feature assists with ordering. On top of that, we have a great representative, Michael Bond, who is always on hand if any issues arise.

“The biggest advantages of this system are that you can make changes very quickly and efficiently. We have a seasonal menu that changes every three months, so being able to edit and manipulate the system ourselves is very important to us. Because this system is touch screen, changing the menu is much easier than it was with the old system. Another advantage is that we are able to track staff sales and performance.

“The most important element [for us] is the sales categories and percentages. Each day we are able to see our sales for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, wine, beer, spirits, cakes and dessert. This is important to a small business as we can monitor our performance and see where we are making money and where we might need to improve. We’re able to print off monthly/weekly/daily reports at any time due to the calendar feature in this model which is very helpful to monitor progress and track sales over short or long periods of time.”

Take control of your venue RedCat provides a total Point of Sale and Business Management solution for your venue.

RedCat can provide the tools necessary to maintain tight financial control of your business at both front and back of house and generate immediate productivity gains and significant cost savings.

Investigate RedCat today by calling 1300 4 REDCAT

www.r edcat.co m.a u

IMPOS

MACRO SOLUTIONS

ImPOS is next generation point of sale. The guys in development at the ImPOS Melbourne head office have been extremely busy recently working on the latest release of the ImPOS range of software specifically designed for the hospitality market. A new reporting platform has been released which is designed to run from any iPhone or Smartphone compatible device streaming live information direct from the POS. Increase your profit and manage your venue with ease with ImPOS — next generation point of sale.

Macro Solutions is a full service partner specialising in the design, implementation and the ongoing support of technological business solutions to the hospitality industry including:

Impos: 1300 780 268 or www.impos.com.au

• Back Office, incorporating purchasing and stock control, customer loyalty, cash-up and POS configuration.

• Point of Sale, including touchscreen and portable solutions for table, counter and bistro service operations.

• Labour Management, including rostering, time capture, staff availability and reporting.

•Web Dashboards, showing graphical gauges and charts, KPI monitoring, detailed live reporting and more.

• Office Technology, including PCs, printer, networks, back-ups, virus protection and more.

Visit Macro Solution’s new website for demonstration videos, screen shots, customer stories and downloads.

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Macro Solutions: 1300 66 75 75 or www.macropos.com.au

REDCAT

FEDELTA

RedCat is an Australian outfit that’s 100 percent focussed on hospitality (restaurants in particular), and has been since 1992. The modular nature of the RedCat software allows you to provide a tailor-made solution. There are modules that enable you to monitor sales and overall performance of one, or multiple locations, simplify accounting processes, maintain tight stock control, integrate payroll, and implement customer loyalty programs.

Fedelta is the innovative point of sale solution for the hospitality industry. Fedelta delivers improved business efficiency and productivity through its comprehensive range of software, hardware and support services. The Fedelta solution is designed around seamlessly integrating all aspects of your business such as accountancy, payroll, reservations, handheld ordering, website integration and customer loyalty tracking. By integrating these elements into the one solution you save time and eliminate doubleentry mistakes, while ensuring an accurate real-time picture of profitability. Through the centralising of key performance Indicators, Fedelta can automatically send valuable business insight to management allowing you to stay in touch with organisational performance with minimal effort. Fedelta caters nationally to a diverse clientele, ranging from the smaller boutique venues right through to some of the biggest and most renowned businesses in Australia.

RedCat: 1300 4 REDCAT or www.redcat.com.au

Fedelta: 1300 652 029 or www.fedeltapos.com

Madeleine Cheah Taste Baguette, Sydney NSW System: OmniPOS (02) 9880 8644 or www.omnipos.com.au

Madeleine Cheah says she has found OmniPOS reliable, and appreciates how easy it is to upgrade and add extra features to the system. Following recommendations from other restaurant and café operators, the tasty Taste Baguette outlets had Omni Systems install a system with hand-helds.

“There are no licence or on-going support fees,” says Madeleine.

“The biggest advantage is the ability to customise the POS to suit all our stores, with each store needing slightly different requirements for custom service.”

The benefits are easily visible, she says. “Our staff are more efficient, as they are able to take orders straight away with the hand-helds. We have cut down on staffing costs. It’s easy and userfriendly to change menu items and prices on the Omni system, as we have daily chef’s specials which need to be changed or added on the POS.”

Increase profit and manage your business with ease - ask us how!

Call 1300 780 268 We’re sure ImPOS will free up so much of your time that we are offering a $1000 Flight Centre Voucher for the first five orders confirmed prior to August 27th, 2010.*

1300 780 268 www.impos.com.au *Terms & Conditions apply. For full details please contact ImPOS. Not available in conjunction with any other offer. To redeem voucher orders must be confirmed and confirmation deposit received prior to August 27, 2010

Porter’s Cloth Porter’s has teamed up with designer Julie Paterson from Cloth for a new wallpaper collection. The hallmark of the collection is bold geometric designs in earthy natural colours. The Stoney wallpaper is pictured, and each wallpaper is available for $206 a roll (10.5m by 530mm).

Porter’s Paints: 1800 656 664 or www.porterspaints.com

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commercial edge

Motivo

Axolotl Vanguard Doors

The popularity of decorative and textured finishes has led Caesarstone to develop the Motivo range of patterned quartz surfaces. Motivo features a contrasting gloss and sculpted texture finish in two designs: Lace 2141, an intricate floral pattern in the popular Snow shade, and Crocodile 3100, a jet black surface in the form of a crocodile skin. And Motivo is better than a croc skin, because on top of keeping out liquids, it’s also low maintenance and comes with a 10-year warranty.

Oversize doors are more popular now than ever. Which is unsurprising considering the unique statement they make. Using conventional substrates for oversize doors, however, can present challenges including weight, workability and warping. The Vanguard door overcomes these restrictions. Vanguard consists of two layers of a specialised composite laminated to an aluminium frame. The outer skin provides a durable layer with long-term structural stability and excellent chemical and moisture-resistant properties.

The specialised composite allows the faces to be routed or machined to a pre-determined depth without compromising the integrity of the door. The door pictured has a unique cracked design carved into the face of the door continuing across onto the side panel. The door is bonded with Axolotl Copper Smooth Pearl. However you can take your creative ideas to the limit as the Vanguard door can be bonded with any Axolotl metal and effect.

Caesarstone: (02) 9202 4698 or www.caesarstone.com.au

Axolotl Group: (02) 9666 1207 or info@axolotl-group.com

Brintons: Full Service

RBA Stainless Steel Tapware

Friday’s Riverside is a lively bar and restaurant that is the centrepiece of Brisbane’s Riverside Centre. As one of the city’s premier destinations, it is considered a great place to enjoy a long lunch or evening drinks. Architects, Design 320, worked with Brintons on a heavily textured and serviceable carpet design that would be suitable for use in an interior space like this with heavy footfall. A customised version of Brinton’s newlylaunched Reverb collection was selected. Brintons delivered a full design and project management service to the client. This included the use of Brintons’ design collections for inspiration, colour prints, flooded floor plans, full-scale plots and samples. Everyone involved sounds suitably chuffed.

Had difficulty in sourcing commercial tapware made from vandal resistant stainless steel? RBA now has heavy-duty stainless steel self-closing tapware. Not only is the tapware vandal resistant, it is very durable and environmentally friendly with a six-star WELS rating. The benefits don’t stop there — RBA’s stainless steel tapware is easy to operate, very low maintenance and simple to install. An added advantage is the hygiene qualities associated with stainless steel. The tapware is available in bright and satin finishes to match popular commercial design specifications.

Brintons: (03) 5226 3200 or www.brintons.net

The sustainability of RBA’s stainless steel tapware is more than just the six-star WELS rating it has achieved. During production, all tailing waste is recycled within the manufacturing plant and the tap itself is 100% recyclable. If durability, low maintenance and achieving high green star status are important to you when choosing commercial tapware, then visit the RBA website now.

RBA Group: 1300 788 778 or www.rba.com.au

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™

Your Commercial Edge Be a part of venue’s Commercial Edge section and reach a nationwide readership of buyers, specifiers, owners, managers and designers.

Phone Stew now on (02) 9986 1188

Flooring / Floor coverings / Audiovisuals / Lighting / Heating / Refrigeration / Furniture / Web Design / Bathroom Fittings / Kitchen Supplies / Air Conditioning / Bar Supplies / Cleaning Services / Glassware / Professional / Services / Promotional Items / Security / Architectural & Interior Design / Training & Education / Point of Sale / Uniforms / Vending / Signage / Financial Services / Catering St. Leonards Tavern by Response Group Australia Photo: Katharine Formosa

L’Arc Paris www.larc-paris.com

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You Wish

Hold onto your baguettes, it doesn’t get any more French than this! Behind the walls of a handsome Napoleon III private mansion, L’Arc Paris sits in view of the Arc de Triumph, serving up food, sophisticated ambience, music and top-shelf tipples.

L’Arc Paris has three main prôngs: the restaurant, the bar and the nightclub.

The architect responsible is Samy Chams. In London, he has provides his French touch to two clubs: jet-set favourites, Movida and Maddox.

The L-Arc restaurant is something special.

Order your vichyssoise or bouillebaise, slurp and watch gay Parisiennes promenade down the Champs de Elysee with their pint-sized pooches in tow. The huge trompe-l’oeil framed by bronze moldings hangs overhead and dominates the room. The soft lighting is provided by

a succession of bubble hanging lights designed

by Verner Panton.

Upstairs you’ll find the impressive bar. The bar itself is in bronze-coloured alabaster. Walnut wood panelling, ’50s paintings, animal skins, and a cosy ambience with New-York influences make this a very popular meeting point for predinner drinks. There’s even a ’50s jukebox delivering grooving laid-back sounds.

The club l’Arc Paris sports a contemporary, trés urban decor, where black leather, infinite mirrors, LED screens and up-to-the-minute lighting lift spirits.

L’ArcParis is the only Parisian club featuring a garden/smoking room. When the fine weather settles in, the veranda disappears and the Krug sipping and Gauloise Blonde dragging begins.

Magnifique!

RELIABILITY YOU CAN DEPEND ON FOR YEARS. 4 Year Projector Warranty* 1 Year Lamp Warranty** 1920x1200 WUXGA Resolution 6000 Lumen Brightness 10,000 Hour Maintenance Free Filter 6 Lens Options

Epson, the number one in projectors world wide introduces the EB-Z8000WU projector.

A large venue’s new best friend in Big, Bright, HD Images.

EB-G5100

EB-G5200W

EB-G5350

EB-Z8000WU

For information on our range of projectors call 1300 130 194 or visit epson.com.au *4 years or 10,000 hours. **1 year or 750 hours.