Venue #58 by Alchemedia Publishing

an M C de cN it ls’ ab y Fla b : gs hip

St o Ha P ke nd asc h les al o Va Go u n H me se a s$9.95 inc gst

9 771832 143005

: t s e sor h e c R t : eeurme ial B Go c d’ m ’s So Foo t t a ne n he h n y tT e n B l ou r n k o u nn o ll Ab B ha o A r ‘It’s S B

20+ Eateries Profiled

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SMART Signage Evolution from Samsung

samsung.com/au/business business.partner@samsung.com Images used for illustration purposes only.

Introducing the 2014 Samsung Solution Displays Line-up The 2nd generation Samsung SMART Signage Platform (SSSP) takes Samsung dynamic signage to another level. Included in the new Samsung DBD, DMD, DHD, and UED series, the 2nd generation SSSP offers quad core System on Chip (SoC) technology helping to boost power and provide more functionality for Samsung signage applications. MagicInfo® Player S2 included

2nd Generation SSSP Included with DBD, DMD, DHD & UED ranges • • •

•

DBD Series • Direct Lit LED BLU¹ • 32, 40, 48, 55” • Slimline design • Low glare surface • 350 cd/m2 • 5000:1 contrast ratio • 16/7 usage • SD card Slot

MagicInfo® Player S2 included Complete Stand-Alone Signage • PC free touch option using on-board Solution SoC and optional Touch Module (sold Design Template options included separately). DMD, DHD,UED series allows for PC • Scalable for networked server based free content scheduling and delivery to signage applications with MagicInfo® S2 server client access software multiple compatible displays using DP licences (licences sold separately - one Daisy chain² (not available on DM32D) DMD, DHD,UED series allows for PC free licence required per display³). video wall with DP Daisy chain² (not available on DM32D)

DMD Series Direct Lit LED BLU¹ • 32,40, 48, 55, 65, 75” • Slimline design • Low glare surface • 450 cd/m2 (32” 400cdm2) • 5000:1 contrast ratio • 24/7 usage • Wi Fi Module • SD card Slot •

DHD Series • Direct Lit LED BLU¹ • 40,48,55” • Slimline design • Low glare surface • 700 cd/m2 • 5000:1 contrast ratio • 24/7 usage • Wi Fi Module • SD card Slot

UED Series Edge Lit LED BLU¹ • 46&55” • 5.15mm bezel for video wall • 31mm unit depth • 450cd/m2 • 4000:1 contrast ratio • Wi Fi Module • SD card Slot •

UDD Series • Direct Lit LED BLU¹ • 55” (46 inch UD-C series) • Premium Video Wall • Combined bezel 3.5mm • Usage up to 24/7 • Low glare surface • 700 cd/m2 brightness • Advanced Colour • Management Support

National Solution Displays Team New South Wales and A.C.T. Mark Malcaus P 02 9763 9982 | M 0439 416 15 7 m.malcaus@samsung.com Victoria and Tasmania Peter Pacella M 0428 120 744 p.pacella@samsung.com Western Australia and South Australia Wayne Standen P 08 9340 4900 | M 0447 414 627 w.standen@samsung.com Queensland and Northern Territory Gavin Lamb P 07 3907 6100 | M 0437 814 650 gavin.lamb@samsung.com

Images for illustration purposes only Specifications correct at time of print, but subject to change without prior notice 1 Samsung LED BLU Commercial Displays use LCD display panels with LED back or edge lighting. 2 DM32D excluded - DP Cables not included. (Sold separately) 3 MagicInfo® S2 server client access software licence is required for networked applications, one licence required for each display (sold separately). Internet connection may be required. Data and subscription charges may apply. Usage may be subject to third party service provider agreements. Network infrastructure not included.

samsung.com/au/business business.partner@samsung.com

New Samsung Commercial Displays with 2nd Generation Samsung Smart Signage Platform The new Samsung DBD, DMD, and DHD series LED BLU¹ displays introduce a sleek design across the 3 series, helping to provide clients with a consistent look for their installations even when different model types are required for specific applications.

The new Samsung DBD, DMD and DHD series - Uniform styling across 3 ranges!

2nd Generation SSSP Intuitive Home UI for easy content creation Built-in Wi-Fi for content sharing and display control Quad Core SoC- Powered Embedded Media Player

Quad Core Processor

Enhanced User Interface • Pre designed Templates landscape and portrait • Multi –channel content • Priority player • Event Schedule • USB Auto Play • PC-less Video Wall • Wireless content control

Built in Wi-Fi Wireless Control: Display Control over Wi-Fi⁴

Easy on screen UI for selecting templates,, creating content, scheduling and the built in player delivers to the display.

Wireless Content Share: Content share over Wi-Fi⁴

PC-lessvideowall fromSD Card, USB (devices sold separately) or onboard memory in one display with DP Daisy chain²

Images for illustration purposes only 1 Samsung LED BLU Commercial Displays use LCD display panels with LED back or edge lighting 2 DP Cables not included. (Sold separately) 4 Wi Fi content delivery and display control requires MagicInfo® S2 server client access software licence. (Sold separately – one licence required per display). Wi Fi Module embedded on DMD, DHD and UED series. Wi Fi Dongle for DBD series required (sold separately). Wi Fi infrastructure not included.

samsung.com/au/business business.partner@samsung.com

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Superb sound (with soft-dome tweeters and a “sweet”, pleasant, sound character), affordable, excellent coverage, dual cable clamps for “in” and “out” cable, easy installation, available in white or in black for dark ceilings, easy stocking with combined low-Z and 70V/100V in same model.

APPLICATIONS Restaurants / Retail Stores / Music Cafes Reception/Waiting Rooms / Business Music Venues Airports / Ofﬁces / Lounges / Convention Centers Hotels / Educational Facilities / Many more applications...

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CULINARY MIX TAPE? PRESS PLAY

t’s our Restaurants Special and so it goes without saying, I want to talk to you about mix tapes. I watched Guardians of the Galaxy recently — a mind bogglingly popular movie, yet surprisingly offbeat for a Marvel popcorn spectacular. I don’t think I need to telegraph a ‘spoiler alert’ here, but a thematic thread that glues the movie together is a mix tape. For those too young to know what a Walkman is: a mix tape is a hand-selected compilation, normally a selection of LP tracks recorded onto a music cassette. A mix tape is different to, say, an iTunes gift card, by virtue of the thought and love encoded into every Chrome Oxide second of that SA90 cassette. It’s not simply the fact you’ve selected 12 songs you like. They will more than likely follow a theme. For the hopelessly romantic, it could be 60 minutes of torch songs, carefully curated to best showcase your tortured heart, all without bumping your head on the end stop of the tape — a truncated song is a mix tape faux pas without parallel. I loved mix tapes because they said as much about the giver as they did about the receiver. Bestow a mix tape upon your girlfriend, and you’re making a really quite complicated statement: ‘this is me; this is what you are to me; and this is what I think I mean to you’. In retrospect, it’s little wonder that a mix tape could take days to complete. Similarly, if you received a mix tape, then you knew your relationship had turned a corner — this was serious. Yes, all that from a music compilation on an obsolete recording medium. I’ve been reflecting on the parallels between the mix tape and a degustation meal. Admittedly, a degustation meal isn’t necessarily individually tailored to the diner, but it is a chef’s personal statement. Indeed, like a mix tape, it’s more than a statement, it’s a journey… with winding lanes, sixlane highways, and scenic lookouts. Better still, prefer to take that journey with Sophia Loren in the passenger seat? Then allow a switched-on sommelier to match wine with the food — truly one of life’s more decadent experiences. Add a fat Cuban to the end of the evening and you’re approaching perfection. Unfortunately, a degustation meal in a classy restaurant isn’t a weekly occurrence — at least not in my experience — but eating out can be. And to continue on my mix tape tip, I’m increasingly asking people to order for me: Is this your favourite restaurant? Great. Order for me. What do I like? Whatever’s good. It’s fascinating to see how different people respond to this responsibility. Some, find it onerous. Others are surprised but game. The best, I’ve found, use the request as the chance to create a culinary mix tape. Not only am I eating what my ‘order for me’ patron likes best, I’m eating what they think I’ll like best. I see plenty of ‘mix tapes’ in this issue of venue. Restaurants are often deeply personal. Some wear their hearts on their sleeves (Nantucket is one such example where the owners have poured their soul into every detail), while others, such as Damian Griffiths’ Kwan Brothers, could be accused of being a more cynical piss take, but I’d suggest the owner’s love and ambitions are writ large for all to see. A great restaurant, like a great mix tape, will take you on a journey. There won’t be any jarring juxtapositions. And whether the theme is ‘punk’, ‘pop’, ‘classical’ or ‘jazz’, the success is in the love and the attention to detail. Christopher Holder, Editorial Director, chris@venuemag.com

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PM 502 COMPACT POWERHOUSE MADE IN GERMANY

Innovative, versatile and userfriendly, the PM 502 is the perfect powerhouse – equally suitable for mobile live applications and fixed installation. A glance under the bonnet of this powered mixer reveals innovative Dynacord engineering. A Class-D amplifier rated at 2 x 450 W RMS delivers the power, whilst the 100V Direct Drive mode offers simple plug & play functionality for electro-acoustic installations. The PM 502’s 48-bit effects processor with its 32 editable presets employs the tried-and-tested PowerMate effects algorithms. The user interface is perfectly tailored to the demands of day-today practice. A newly designed push encoder provides swift and easy access to all DSP functions. Also included are practical features such as an onboard compressor/limiter and a talk-over (ducking) function. You’ll find further features along with comprehensive information at: www.dynacord.com

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CONTENTS September 2014 No 58

Restaurant: Zahli, Surry Hills Owner: Mohammad Issmail Head Chef: Abdul Shams Designer: Kylie Grimwood, Quattro design

St o

Ha P ke nd asc h les al o Va Go u n H me se aa s-M C nd c i els Na ty ’ F bb : lag sh ip

issue fifty eight 2014

: es sort cht Re : eeurme ial B Go c d’ o o amnett’s S e Fo nh Ben lyn ut Th urnnon ok ll Abo B ha o A r S B ‘It’s

Restaurants Special

There were 1400 wines on the list. The wine stocktake alone took 30 hours a week

$9.95 inc gst

Director of F&B, Martin Webb, rings changes at Taxi Kitchen

20+ Eateries Profiled

9 771832 143005

Venue: Fonda, Melbourne CBD Architect: Techne Architects

Restaurants

16 Stokehouse City, Melbourne 22 Piggery Café, Melbourne 24 Nantucket Bar & Kitchen, Brisbane 26 Hophaus, Melbourne 28 Meatball & Wine, Melbourne 30 Ding Tai Fung, Sydney 31 Cho Cho San, Sydney 32 Kwan Brothers, Brisbane 34 Brooklyn Social, Sydney 40 Cecconi, Melbourne 42 Roundup: Da Orazio Pizza, Mad

CONTACTS: Advertising Office:

Mex, Bull & Bear, Fonda, Qsan, New Hampton, New Shanghai, Salon de Sushi, Punch Lane, The Courtyard, Chez Carl, Amara Hotel Café

(02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Editorial Office: (03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353 Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@venuemag.com)) Publication Director: Stewart Woodhill (stewart@venuemag.com) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@venuemag.com) Art Direction & Design: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Graphic Designer: Daniel Howard (daniel@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Enquiries: (subscriptions@alchemedia.com.au) Accounts: Jaedd Asthana (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 © 2014 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.

46 Coppersmith Hotel, Melbourne 50 Terminus Hotel, Melbourne 58 Technology: Clipp

Regulars

13 Smooth Operator 14 Music Connection 54 F&F News 56 AV News 60 LX News 62 Preferred Suppliers 66 You Wish: The Jane, Belgium

HOPHAUS Melbourne

24 Moons Alumbra The Arthouse Hotel Australian Outback Spectacular The Bank Hotel The Botanical Bungalow 8 Brisbane Hotel (Perth) Club Marconi Discovery Establishment Half Moon Hornsby RSL Ivy Katuk Kudu Lounge Luxe Bar The Mean Fiddler The Met Oxford Art Factory Slip Inn

he first time we opened a pub, there was no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram. We were on email but a lot of our friends weren’t – and certainly large swathes of our market in bohemian Fitzroy were avoiding the internet entirely — convinced it was the end of society as they knew it. (And for anyone who remembers Fitzroy pre-millenium — famous for its unrenovated ramshackle terraces; verandahs lined up along unswept streets, like a long grandstand of tatty velour couches, housing reclining members of the last of Melbourne’s bohemian class, where neighbours had been neighbours for years, or even generations — status updates, Likes and shared images were transacted over a drink, over a fence, over long languid afternoons. For anyone who remembers that simpler, slower way of communicating, you might forgive them for thinking the internet was indeed the end of society as they knew it.) This was the Commercial Club Hotel. We’d scraped together a few hundred grand from friends and family to purchase the tired old joint. We’d moved in and renovated 24 hours a day for 30 days. Then, with just a few days to go before opening, we’d sat down to discuss the details of the big night… and worked out we knew nothing about opening a pub! 15 years and 15 openings later, we’ve just opened the Terminus Hotel in Abbotsford [see the full story later this issue], and I gotta tell you, there were still times these past few weeks when I thought ‘I know nothing about opening a pub!’ (Ironically, amidst all the chaos and ignorance, and despite years of fine-tuning since, the Commercial Club was the last time we opened a venue on time and on budget!) The first thing we tell our staff, suppliers and each other about opening a pub is this: it will be utterly chaotic! Sure, over time we’ve got better at it, but then again, each new pub is bigger and more complex than the last, with more moving parts and more things to stuff up. One of the great advantages we have now is exceptionally talented senior managers who’ve opened pubs with us before. They know how its goes, know what to look for, know what to expect. As well as managing most of the details of the opening process, they’re a calming influence on other managers who’ve never been under the sort of pressure an opening can generate. We’ve learnt over time that the more time our managers have planning an opening, the better it will be. Sounds obvious right? But for years we’d been too worried about wasted wages to bring managers on with any more than a week or so to go before opening. Same goes for bar staff. These days we hire them early, and get them to do a few shifts at our other venues. It lets us assess their suitability, and gives them a good idea of what it will be like when the new place opens.

SPENDING DOUGH: YES & NO Like every aspect of business, you generally need to spend money to make money. The overriding caveat being, of course, that you have to spend that money on the right things. This is not dissimilar to a renovation budget. We normally only get one chance to renovate a pub, and we have to get it right. Over the years, as our renovation costs have gone up from

$500 a metre to $3000-4000, so too have the rewards. But as always, just spending money won’t build a sustainable business. That money has to be directed to the right things. So we say ‘no’ to a lot of beautiful design ideas, and yes to the ones we reckon will bring people in and keep them in. The same applies to openings. There’s only one real purpose to an opening (and perhaps one secondary purpose too). The main purpose is to connect your product to your market, and to make that connection stick. And this is the first and most common mistake I see people make. For most pubs or restaurants, your market lives and works nearby. They want to make your venue part of their lives, part of their monthly, or weekly or maybe even daily routine. And you want that as well. These are the punters who will still be with you years down the track, when the rubberneckers have long since moved on to the next cool place to launch with B-grade celebrities on the snaperazzi page of Sunday’s Herald Sun. Because a pub that lands with a gentle thud on its local market, rather than a big bang with hangers-on, will more quickly build a sustainable long-term business. So we dedicate our efforts to ensuring our locals know we’re opening, know they’re invited, and can get in the front door when they show up — nothing says “this is not a locals’ joint” like a big queue and a couple of angry bouncers.

HITTING YOUR STRIDE We know that on opening night, we’ll never be quite ready to open, no matter how good our people are, no matter how hard we’ve all worked. The truth is, a pub and its 40-50 staff just can’t go from nothing to full-tilt in an instant. A kitchen needs to be tested before it can work at full capacity. Bar staff need time to get used to their bars. Till systems need their myriad little problems ironed out. Like most people, we start with a ‘soft opening’. On the Wednesday before the Friday of the official opening, we invite family and friends along to check the place out. This gives staff a chance to get used to serving people, without the pressure of having to get everything right (cos family and friends won’t complain when their parma arrives late… or not at all). We then try to open to the public that Thursday night. This gives staff yet another chance to get used to things with only a small crowd in. And then it’s Friday night, the place is full, and you hope to God everything works okay! Oh yeah, and that secondary purpose to an opening? Well, opening a pub is not easy. When it finally happens, you and the people who helped make it happen, deserve to party hard.

a pub that lands with a gentle thud on its local market, rather than a big bang with hangerson, will more quickly build a sustainable long-term business

SMOOTH OPERATOR How’s this for an opener? Matt Mullins is a partner in Sand Hill Road hospitality group

a whopping 70% of those surveyed avoiding restaurants that are too loud

MUSIC CONNECTION Acoustics: Food for thought Stuart Watters is a Director of Morph TV and consults for Nightlife Music

ustralian restaurants have a penchant for modern sleek design: open kitchens, bars in the dining area, concrete floors, bare walls, bare tables, metal chairs, and lots of glass. Subsequently we end up with really loud rooms where it is often incredibly difficult to enjoy a catchup dinner with family and friends, let alone conduct any meaningful business. This is a topic that features heavily in my writing because the impact of noise on restaurant success is often overlooked and venues suffer as a result. The checklist for opening a restaurant is extensive and there are a few no-brainers such as a great chef, professional floor staff, good décor and an extensive drinks list. Secondary interior design aspects include the décor, the overall design, look and feel of the venue and it’s at this point that good sound is forsaken for aesthetic design. Earlier this year, long running US-based user-generated review site, Zagat, conducted a restaurants survey for the city of Boston where survey participants pitted restaurant noise levels as the number one complaint ahead of service and pricing, with a whopping 70% of those surveyed avoiding restaurants that are too loud. That should provide a clear motivation for restaurants to consider good sound acoustic measures in their budgets when planning a new build or renovation.

SOUND JUDGEMENT That said, it is fairly common for sound acoustics to be considered in the initial scoping exercise by the restaurateur, architects and interior designers. However, as the project develops and the build begins to take shape, the elements of the project that are usually cut first when budgets begin to get tight are the acoustic aspects as it is often an easy cost saving that, based on appearances alone, won’t have any impact on the effectiveness of the venue. It doesn’t have the same immediate tangible effect as sleek lines, marble bench tops, concrete floors and a mirrored wall, so it’s usually the easiest element to scrap, often with the most disastrous effects. With this in mind, it pays to be vigilant and maintain the initial design intent for you acoustics (don’t blow the acoustics budget on the hand-painted trompe l’oeil you ‘just had to have’). As is often the case, corners get cut and the retrofit required to address poor acoustics ends up being two or three times more expensive than if it’s delivered at the front end of the process. Costs can easily blow out to tens of thousands of dollars when trying to resolve these kinds of problems after the fact. If required, though, there are companies all over Australia who specifically address these types of acoustic issues but I’d urge that if your business is acoustically challenged, then the first step is to address this before you go investing in speakers or changing your music. However, those two elements are next on the hit list.

ACOUSTICS FIRST SPEAKERS NEXT

While good speakers are essential, don’t be fooled into buying the most expensive speakers on the market if you haven’t had the room acoustically treated first, as it won’t make a shred of difference if the room is unmanageable. Once you’ve treated the room to sound

the best it possibly can, then you should consider the AV setup because a good-sounding room will provide the venue a lot of latitude in terms of where to strategically place speakers and how many you would need. This will vary considerably based on the room size, seating configuration and what the room sounds like at different capacities. A good AV agent will be able to advise you on the number of and placement of speakers and where to put subs. Next step, the right music.

THE RIGHT MUSIC HELPS… A LOT Music is an essential piece in the puzzle and enables the venue to not only stamp its brand on the experience but it’s one of the most important tools at a venue’s disposal for engaging customers and providing something memorable, creating repeat trade and loyalty. Globally, consumers have more access to music than ever before which means everyone has an opinion on what they want to hear. Music is an important tool in providing the point of difference for the restaurant sector and more and more restaurateurs and venue owners use music to really set themselves apart. But all too often, what the venue owner wants isn’t always in tune with what its clientele desire. I’ve come across countless stories of venue owners thinking they know exactly what they need for the venue but in reality, this is out of step with creating a positive dining experience. Celebrity chefs harbouring closet desires to be DJs are at the front of the queue and making music suggestions to them is akin to telling them to perhaps pull back on the olive oil when making their signature dish… they often don’t react well. Selecting, programming and managing music in situ with great acoustics and a decent AV setup is an absolutely critical combination to ensuring a restaurant’s customers are taking away a positive experience. Nightlife Music has a network of specialist partners throughout Australia who can assist both during the design process or to improve an existing space. If you need help improving the sound in your venue get in touch. Even if the customer isn’t explicitly conscious of the music or the sound, there are subliminal forces at work that encourage an overall benefit to customer satisfaction. Consistent noise levels, a good beat wave that allows for flow in conversation, music that people are familiar with and content that isn’t offensive either to the ears or morals of diners are pretty good benchmarks for getting the balance right. A combination that always prevails in providing customers with a good reason to come back to your venue time and again.

STOKED The original Stokehouse building may have burned down, but the spirit of Stokehouse lives on in the city, showing it’s what’s inside that counts. Story: Mark Davie Stokehouse City: 7 Alfred Place, Melbourne VIC (03) 9525 5555 or www.stokehouse.com.au/city/

fter operating out of the same iconic building on St Kilda’s esplanade for a quarter century, Stokehouse has been on the road this year. The restaurant has been reincarnated twice since a fire razed the 110-year old tea rooms; once as a pop up on the demolished site, and now again as Stokehouse City, a good number of leagues from the beachside site. Transporting the essence of a restaurant is not simple. You can’t detail an order schedule and list out a bunch of rules in a folder like you might with a franchisee. Stokehouse is a famous dining experience comprised of many elements, and until recently, most locals would have assumed that included the beachside view and iconic facade. But the pitch perfect transposition of Stokehouse’s sum and substance has shown that doesn’t matter one bit. The Van Haandel Group is relatively experienced at defining the core of Stokehouse by now. The group already has another site in Brisbane,

which manages to hold up the name superbly without a view of the beach — although the river view’s not half bad. And before the fire ripped through in January, the Van Haandels were about to sign on to bring the Stokehouse to the Sydney Opera House.

MOVING HOUSE While locals mourned the loss as Stokehouse went up in flames, the Van Haandels were thinking on their feet. Anthony Musarra, Van Haandel Group General Manager, said by early the next morning the decision had already been made to put a pop up Stokehouse on the existing site. “By the next evening it was a cleared, vacant block of land,” he said. “Council had put an emergency demolition order on it because of safety, so they were very supportive of us doing something on the site to engage with the community.” Wedding receptions were redirected to other venues in the Group while Harry The Hirer erected an elaborate marquee, and by Valentine’s Day

Stokehouse was well patronised once more. It was a case of “focussing on what had to happen the next day and the next week,” said Musarra. An outlook that is only now relaxing a little. Musarra is adamant that Stokehouse was always more than the building it was housed in: “I think it was all about what went on in the building and the culture that we created. Stokehouse was our approach to dining and drinking. It was a pretty unique offering with its own personality and that’s why it was easy for us to translate. Plus having an amazing, strong, core team — everybody understood how we operate. We knew what we wanted to do. We just needed another place to do it in.” Pressing Musarra to distill what defines Stokehouse, he describes it as “a laid-back level of sophisticated dining. It’s always been driven by the contemporary Mediterranean approach to food and because of the beach, it kind of infiltrated the design. Bringing that easy, almost raw approach to the bar and dining room, in a contradiction with beauty at the same time.”

Pascale Gomes-McNabb used mirrors to reflect the history of the grand Mietta’s dining room. Reused furniture, nautical netting and rough sanded patterns conspire to create a lived-in luxury that embodies Stokehouse’s charm.

I hate the waste in hospitality where people go in and completely strip out an existing fitout

COMME CI COMME ÇA A big part of Stokehouse was always the two levels, so when the time came to find another temporary home, there was really only one that fit the bill within the Van Haandel Group: Comme. Comme had been housed in the old Mietta’s building in Alfred Place, a glamorous two-storey edifice ingrained in Melbourne’s hospitality heritage. While buildings don’t matter in one sense to the perpetuation of the Stokehouse name, there was no way the brand would occupy any lesser real estate in the Group’s holding. “It was difficult because we had to let some staff go,” said Musarra. In fact, the whole Comme crew was disbanded to make way for the Stokehouse team. It shows how important the brand is to the Van Haandels. It’s still unclear whether Stokehouse City will remain when the new Robert Simeonidesigned building in St Kilda is complete and the restaurant team returns to their roots. But it hasn’t stopped them dismantling one business in favour of the golden child, even if only temporarily.

“Our view was always to come here and continue the business and the brand while Stokehouse St. Kilda was being redesigned and built,” said Musarra. “Over the next four to six months we’ll start to rethink whether Stokehouse City remains. But certainly, in the short term, we plan to keep it going. And we’ll review it when St Kilda comes back. There’s good synergy between the city and the beach.”

WHERE THE CITY MEETS THE BEACH For now, all the focus is on Stokehouse City. And while the old Victorian building isn’t a direct replacement for a shack on the beach, it still has the split levels, albeit with another 15 stairs for staff to climb. Without the view, the fitout has had to be more inward-focused too. Architect and interior designer, Pascale GomesMcNabb, knows Stokehouse inside out. She was the last designer to touch the St Kilda premises, revitalising upstairs in 2010. The turnaround was extremely tight, so her in-

side knowledge of Stokehouse’s intangibles were indispensable. By late March 2014, she’d signed the contract, and everyone moved in late May. Two months isn’t a lot of time to deliver a hospitality fitout, especially one with two levels and set against historic high benchmarks. Luckily, while Comme had been a bit overdressed for contemporary hospitality trends, it also had some beautiful features worth retaining, which is exactly what Gomes-McNabb loves to do. “I hate the waste in hospitality where people go in and completely strip out an existing fitout,” she said. “I repurposed a lot of existing elements. Comme had a significant marble bar, so why not work with and enhance it?” She also recovered the existing banquettes; upcycled other old bars into marble benchtops, added some driftwood-inspired woodwork as legs; recovered chairs in the nightclub with a screen-printed metallic leather; reused loose furniture; and draped nets around chandeliers “because they’re so beautiful, why get rid of them?”.

1 2

It was all about what went on in the building and the culture that we created 3

CONTACTS 1

Mark Douglass Design (Ikea ‘Glass Lamps’):

0414 540 110 or info@markdouglassdesign.com 2

Mance Design: (03) 9429 1959 or mail@mance.com.au

Calmatronics (Bar Inset Oven Lights): (03) 9326 5888

CAMM (Leather Upholstery): (03) 9555 7580

Spacecraft (Custom Fabric): (03) 9486 0718 or info@spacecraftaustralia.com

The MO was to take out what was inappropriate for embodying Stokehouse, repurpose existing parts, and add new elements. The overall theme is vaguely beach house-inspired, and taps into the escapist side of Stokehouse. The downstairs paintwork makes a subtle transition from sandy white to a pink shade, taking inspiration from Murray Frederick’s horizon line photos, even the stools have received a duotone makeover. Also downstairs, the pendants are covered in rectangular canvas shapes reminiscent of early bathing boxes. Some of the tables have fluorescent orange stripes painted onto their legs — a mashup of the old awnings and the fluorescent buoy you could see from the Stokehouse upstairs. The oak floor was stripped back and painted white, then Gomes-McNabb drew a pattern onto the paint and asked the sander to roughly follow the lines, as if white sand were encroaching on a makeshift boardwalk. The driftwood-inspired bar woodwork was put together by the builder Duobuilt. It was the first time GomesMcNabb had used the company, but she said, “They just came to the party. It was amazing how

everyone worked so well together.” Because of the unknown future of the fitout, and the short timeframe, there’s a sense of freedom in the design: rough sanding, soft horizon transition, and wavy lines roughly painted on balustrades and wardrobes. And because of that, in a strange way, the fitout already feels lived in — as if Stokehouse has always been in that spot. At one point, Gomes-McNabb did almost take the beach house vibe too far. She toyed with the idea of pasting a vinyl print of the St Kilda beach view on the windows of Stokehouse City to obscure the view of the opposing building. But a test run quickly shot down the idea: “I put up one on the mirror. I couldn’t stand it because it was supposed to be see-through and it was opaque. It looked terrible because it made the whole room dramatically darker.”

A TOUCH OF BRASS Some areas thrive in the dark, including the nightclub nook on the ground floor. Tucked away behind the dining area, the private room carries some of the beach house elements, but the floor

pattern is inverted with a dark grey stripe painted onto the parquetry, and the booths are covered in a blue hue instead of lighter, more natural tones. Mark Douglass reappropriated some IKEA glasses as a sea of hanging pendants, and the loose furniture has been recovered in metallic leather with one-off screenprints of French apartments and palaces, created by Spacecraft. The marble bar has a brass corner, and its perspex cladding is peppered with mini oven lights. While some areas are private, the rest of the space has been opened up with more breakout areas. Out front, the reception is large enough to serve as a welcoming area, peppered with stools and ottomans, and inviting settings of loose furniture appear on the first floor landing. Throughout the fitout, Gomes-McNabb has injected luxurious touches of brass and gold, there are even little flecks of metallic gold leather stitched into the lining of the upstairs banquettes. Back in 2010, when Gomes-McNabb was redesigning Stokehouse Upstairs, her efforts to bring a golden brass touch to the Stokehouse bar were initially resisted. All Frank Van Haandel

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could see in it was a reflection of Hamer Hall in the ’80s. But once he came around to the nautical references, brass has continued on as a feature of the Stokehouse design. The blue metallic cladding on the reception desk reflects the rough yellow zig zag painted on the entrance floor, and hanging coloured fluorescent tubes dangle above the entrance. They’re all important elements that balance the design, ensuring the beach house vibe never turns hokey-rustic.

POP UP? PIPE DOWN It’s amazing what the team has achieved in a couple of months, and shows the dedication of everyone involved. Being there, it’s as if the hardships have only served to galvanise the spirit of Stokehouse. That said, despite the Melbourne culinary scene’s appetite for pop-ups, and having successfully navigated two Stokehouse moves in the last six months, Anthony Musarra isn’t on the lookout for any more pop-up opportunities for the brand: “It doesn’t really resonate with me. I know it’s a push and a new wave — an evolution of fast food in Australia to a large degree — but you’ve got to decide if you’re really going to dig into that market, because it can be really damaging if it’s not done properly. It’s not our core business or what we’re really about.” Well, we look forward to the next move then. Back home.

CONTACTS Pascale Gomes-Mcnabb: pascale@pascalegomesmcnabb.com.au Duobuilt: (03) 9397 4880 or office@duobuilt.com 1

Thonet (Dining Furniture): 1800 800 777 or sales@thonet.com.au

Euroluce (Aetto Wall Lamps & FLOS Pendant): 1300 554 549 or info@euroluce.com.au Artemide (Tolomeo Mega Floor Lamp): (03) 9349 3310 or info@artemide.com.au Round (Neon Male/Female Signs): (03) 9663 6675 or rob@round.com.au Tongue & Groove: (03) 9416 0349 or info@tongueandgroove.com.au Amy Antonello (Custom Netting): hangingned@gmail.com

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0RVW Ă H[LEOH LQVWDOODWLRQ SURFHVV DFURVV D ZLGHU UDQJH RI FRQVWUXFWLRQ PHWKRGV LQFOXGLQJ EULFN FRQFUHWH DQG The IS4 C is for any commercial or residential settings where a 70 or 100 volt system is being used. The IS4 C features all the industry standard tap settings as well as an 8-ohm bypass. J\SURFN 8S WR PP RI Ă H[LEOH Ă&#x20AC;QLVKLQJ VXUIDFHV LQFOXGLQJ VNLP FRDW ZRRG YHQHHU YHQHWLDQ SODVWHU DQG ZDOOSDSHU The IS4 C is an extended bandwidth, wide dispersion loudspeaker designed for ceiling or wall 6HQVLWLYLW\ RI G% : PHWUH IRU PXFK KLJKHU VRXQG SUHVVXUH OHYHOV WKDQ RWKHU LQYLVLEOH VSHDNHUV mounting in commercial/professional installations in airports, hotels, boardrooms, cruise ships, SCAN HERE casinos, convention centers, restaurants, offices, houses of worship and retail stores. :LGH GLVSHUVLRQ RI GHJUHHV IRU JUHDWHU FRYHUDJH ZLWK OHVV VSHDNHUV )XOO UDQJH IUHTXHQF\ UHVSRQVH RI +] Â˛ N+] Â&#x201C; G% The IS4 C incorporates a polypropylene diaphragm that provides distinct woofer, midrange and 3RZHU KDQGOLQJ RI ZDWWV 506 tweeter radiation areas to ensure superior-quality sound in foreground music, public address

and paging applications. The IS4 C features wide dispersion (170Â° conical) allowing larger areas

)LYH PRGHOV LQ WKH UDQJH to be adequately covered by fewer speakers. ,6 :D\ ,6 667 6LQJOH 6WHUHR :D\ ,6 :D\ ,6 & 9ROW :D\ F o r m o r e i n f o v i s i t w w w . s o n a n c e . c o m ,6: :RRIHU *Denotes IS4 Distributed in Australia by Amber Technology Ltd 1 800 251 367 www.ambertech.com.au

Whole Hog Burnham Beeches, Piggery Café: 1 Sherbrooke Rd, Sherbrooke VIC (03) 9021 2100 or www.piggerycafe.com.au

Big-name chefs such as, Vue de monde’s Shannon Bennett, are routinely bribed and cajoled into opening signature restaurants in billion-dollar developments: Melbourne, Dubai, Shanghai… they drop into the inbox at the rate of once every month or so. Done hastily, and you’ve spread yourself thinner than the gold leaf on the dessert menu. Very quickly, you can lose the essence of your brand as a restaurateur. So it takes considerable resolve to ignore the background roar of developers and stay true to your goals. You get the feeling Shannon Bennett is more single minded than most. His move to transform his empire into an entirely sustainable and self-sustaining one, moves inexorably closer to reality as he brings key suppliers in house — vegetables, dairy, baking. Burnham Beeches is part of this bigger plan and Phase 1, headed up by Shannon Bennett along with Burnham business partner Adam Garrisson, is now complete. The state-of-the-art Burnham Bakery and the Piggery Café are both in full swing with gun bakers producing breads and pastries in house, and are also supplying several other big-name restaurants including Rockpool and Bistro Guillaume, plus all other Vue Group outlets. The Piggery Café, managed by English lass Emma Lloyd and Frenchman Max Peyrard (former Bistro Vue bar manager), has been designed in a warm and rustic manner with touches of modernity.

Leeda Projects (Builder): (03) 9357 6320 or leeda.com.au Woods Bagot (Architect): (03) 8646 6600 or woodsbagot.com

Outside an array of tables lay under heating strobes looking out to lawn bowls and croquet pitches. Look even further across the 23-hectare estate and into the distance and you’ll spot the 500-tree trufferie, and extensive vegetable gardens (now providing organic produce for Vue de monde and assorted Vue Group restaurants). Leeda Projects is Burnham Beeches’ builder, and talking to Director, Frank Rossi, you quickly get a sense that Leeda is not simply a contractor but rather a key collaborator. “Shannon and Adam have a vision and it’s important to share that vision,” observed Rossi. “Originally, the cafe and bakery was a disused piggery. We had to provide all of the infrastructure and services, while retaining the building. Between the architects, Woods Bagot, and ourselves, every move was considered. We wanted to retain the industrial feel of the structure, yet it obviously needed to have 21st century amenity. For example, we installed hydronic heating within the concrete slab and brick paving — a ducted system simply wouldn’t have been suitable. No one would be the wiser by looking at it.” What next? Well might you ask. Stage 2 will see a steakhouse occupying the old tractor shed. Future stages will include a boutique brewery with a bar and private dining occupying the two silos on site; all ultimately leading to a six-star resort.

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GOOD COD! Nantucket Kitchen & Bar: Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, QLD (07) 3878 9697 or www.nkb.com.au

Unita (Project Solution): 1300 659 399 or unita.com.au Tu Projects (Builder/Project Management): 1300 659 399 or tuprojects.com Round Peg Design (Interior Design): (07) 3240 1630 or roundpegdesign.com.au

It’s rare to see (what the Yanks affectionately call) a Mom and Pop hospitality venture done with such conviction. TJ and Kim Peabody (he with wine industry experience, and she with interior design chops) were a couple with a dream of opening a one-of-a-kind kitchen and bar in the Hamptons style — think: ‘Cape Cod’; think: ‘The Kennedys on Summer Holidays’. To bring their dream alive, the Peabodys surrounded themselves with a classy team of collaborators from the Unita Group — the Unita Group includes Round Peg Design, Tu Projects, Equipment One, Arc Joinery and Shop Steel. Unita’s Managing Director Robert Rowe immediately appreciated TJ and Kim’s focus and determination to see Nantucket built without compromise, and responded — from design to handover the Peabodys were supported by the Unita Group.

GETTING IT WHITE FIRST TIME

Starting with the interior design, the white walls and dark timber floors form the foundations of the interior which are complimented by the vibrant greens strategically incorporated throughout the venue. Round Peg designed the entire location from the ground up. The open and welcoming personality of

Nantucket is directly reflected in the clean lines and open layout. It simultaneously reflects the Peabody’s relationship with Cape Cod and Brisbane’s Western Suburbs. The fitout is beautifully finished — the extensive use of detailed joinery panelling, which was hand finished on site by Arc Joinery, creates an authentic feel of true craftsmanship. From the custom wine display to the custom shelving, the master craftsmanship is evident. Other stunning features include the marble bench tops, dining room tables and a large custom made refrigerated wine display which acts as the centrepiece of the bar area. Known for its speciality in stainless steel fabrication, Shop Steel made the custom fridge to house the broad range of wines and champagne. Not stopping there, Shop Steel fabricated all stainless steel in the restaurant, customised to Round Peg’s designs.

EXPANSIVE The layout is expansive. Patrons are spoilt for choice with options to sit in the casual dining area, formal dining area and even a terrace complete with glazing that welcome natural light into the restaurant. Completing the picture is a private

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Arc Joinery: (07) 3277 6007 or arcjoinery.com.au

dining room with conference facilities that can also service social functions. At each turn it’s evident that this is a highly distinctive project that wasn’t going to be completed with off-the-peg products. Managing the job, Tu Projects sourced the best materials and fixtures from Italy, USA and Asia. From the Ralph Lauren lanterns to the live green walls, Tu Projects ensured all features were installed to perfection. Eyes turning to the kitchen, the coup de grâce is the onepiece, 1.6-tonne, 7m Cookline imported from Italy which was tactically sourced, imported and supplied by Equipment One. A piece of equipment of this calibre is a rarity in the Australian hospitality industry and is proudly featured in Nantucket. The equipment provider worked around the clock to ensure all elements of the kitchen were supplied on time and of the highest quality. Once supplied Tu Projects had a week to install the Cookline and complete the kitchen before handover. Quite a feat. Ultimately, the litmus test for a venue is how well it trades. Judging by the reaction to the venue since its April opening, Nantucket is more popular than a Jackie Kennedy wedding.

HOP TO IT Hophaus: Mid Level, Southgate Restaurant & Shopping Precinct, Melbourne hophaus.com.au

On opening night, South Bank’s latest ‘destination boozer’ is abuzz. I’m transported back to my gap year, crossing off a list of the beer halls of Munich and Berlin. This time around though there was no air travel involved, I can order a stein in English and, dare I say it, the beer is better. Maddison Architects has done a truly remarkable job transforming its previous work on the space’s predecessor in Blue Train. It’s unrecognisable. Drew Carling, Director at Maddison, says the brief was to develop an idea along the lines of a traditional European beer hall. “We wanted to bring a new beer line and product to the patrons, but exactly how that would all look and feel needed to be developed. We did a lot of work to get that right, we analysed a lot of traditional beer halls, and brought that together with the local feel.” The vision was to incorporate an Art Deco flavour, with some common elements you see in venues of this ilk. The schoolhouse lighting, the substantial columns, the detailing, the tile work, it’s clearly all derived from the Euro beer hall tradition, but here it finds itself twisted to reflect a contemporary edge.

HALL IN FAVOUR Hophaus has an enormous bar presence, with singular pouring fonts that allow beers to be swapped around regularly. This bar estate is also a unifying theme that runs through the numerous spaces. “We always go through a process of breaking down the space,” says Carling. “We’ve created subsets of social spaces. Big dividing screen doors allow the space to be divided up with enormous flexibility. Spaces to sit, lean, stand, eat. Spaces to drink.” The architects also contributed rustic communal tables (inside and out), a notable feature that gives the place a friendly, village-like atmosphere. The artists have made their mark too — a floor-to-ceiling wall artwork by Fabio Ongarato Design depicts brewing techniques throughout the ages. Just in case you were wondering how your ancestors might have had their ale concocted. Mother nature plays her part as well. The prevailing winds, I’m reliably informed, puts the balcony in the protected lee side, and it receives the northern light. That’s what makes the South Bank such an effective hospitality area.

Story: Paddy Macrae Maddison Architects: (03) 9696 3636 or www.maddisonarchitects.com.au

BIER… DANKER To list the beers would be a waste of time, and no doubt inaccurate by the time of printing, because Hophaus is constantly changing and modifying its offering. In short, the many and varied German, Austrian, Belgian and Czech biers are cold. The food is warm. They are both delicious. It’s an old-school, meat-heavy menu RedRock hospitality has developed thoughtfully in conjunction with the drinks list. It looks pretty, and has the taste of food that’s been slow roasting over coal embers in the show kitchen to the side. Which, anybody can see, much of it has.

SOUND: SOCK HOP Audio for Hophaus was designed and installed by Factory Sound. The system’s bread and butter is background music, but it’s also set up for roving mics for function use, and can comfortably change gears with a DJ feed when a little more volume is called for. The restaurant manager has full roaming control of all eight zones of audio via iPad, where the volume levels of the DJ, background music and microphone can be adjusted on the go. QSC Acoustic Design Series speakers and amplifiers deliver the sound, while BSS Soundweb is the brains of the control system. The PA’s low-end thump comes from discreetly flown subwoofers. Factory Sound: 1800 816 244 or sales@factorysound.com TAG (QSC): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au Jands (BSS): (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

Having a Ball Meatball & Wine Bar: 98 Smith St, Collingwood VIC (03) 9416 4421 or www.meatballandwinebar.com.au

Story: Paddy Macrae Group Technologies (Quest): (03) 9354 9133 or sales@grouptechnologies.com.au

Here is an establishment that clearly takes its meat (and wine) very seriously. Matteo Bruno, owner and director of the Meatball & Wine bar trilogy, has a background in film and TV production, and a cattle growing heritage. When Bruno was shooting his television series Ask The Butcher he inadvertently underwent something of a masterclass in meat production and cooking. In the Meatball & Wine bar, he’s brought those two together — heritage and knowledge — and packaged them up very neatly in one mouth-watering restaurant.

FOCUS GRASSHOPPER

It’s a venue built around the increasingly-popular notion of doing one thing really well. Mastering a craft. In Italy, Matteo tells me, the regional towns devote entire festivals to one vegetable and all the ways it can be prepared and cooked. They revere these singular ingredients. When he travelled to the USA recently he saw how well operators were commercialising the idea of singular product-focussed venues. “I think as Melbourne’s dining scene expands, there’s more room for operators to concentrate on one thing and do that really strongly. It’s not just about the product though — it’s about the experience. By focussing on one product, it gives you the opportunity to shape the whole dining experience.” Creating a style and a tone for such a place requires some

serious thought. “When we took over the site it was very masculine, but it had excellent bones. We gave it the meatball aesthetic.” That aesthetic runs through all three venues, but allows room for the uniqueness of each location to shine through. “Copper, exposed brick, brown leather, the warm glow from an Edison light bulb. Spaghetti stools, specific cage light fixtures, a copper bar, Victorian ash wood for the tables, these are the same across all venues.” The height of the ceiling is amazing too, and a big drawcard. It also features 8 x Quest eight-inch loudspeakers which are 100V line system plus a front-loaded 600W 12-inch subwoofer. All channels run independent for section control. For this size of venue, it packs a punch. Putting this all together took around eight weeks. A lot of work, but much quicker than starting from scratch like the Flinders Lane site.

MEAT ’N’ GREET It’s fair to say that the Brunos are a meat family. Matteo’s ancestors have a long heritage in cattle farming in Northern Italy and Southern France. Breakfast in the Bruno household was a T-Bone steak. And since he was a little tacker, that passion has only grown. The food is actually very healthy. It’s high-protein, well-prepared

meat given Mediterranean flavour combinations. Interestingly, the Smith St venue also offers a takeaway menu, which features just about everything on the main bill of fare, including wine.

GOING OUT FOR A SPRITZ To Matteo, the wine component is just as important as the ‘meatballs’. “I drew a lot of inspiration from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, where my family is from. Every wine is Italian. There are Australian producers, but they’re all Italian varieties. We also have a big emphasis on Prosecco. It’s our first pour, before water. And the Spritz — a lot of places have taken this off the menu these days. In Italy, you don’t say ‘let’s go for a drink’, you say ‘let’s go for a Spritz’. “We try hard to support local producers, and balance that out with the producers I know in Italy. And we make our own beer, too. There’s Balls Beer — a Pilsner and a Pale Ale, made with Mildura Brewery. They’re on tap.” It’s perfect for a couple on a date — nice and relaxed, with good wine. Perhaps though, best avoided if the date you’re trying to impress is a vegetarian. “If we can deliver our food and make sure it’s incredible, then I’m confident it will continue to be successful. We don’t want to deviate too much from the core vision of doing one thing really well. Just get better at it.”

LIKE FUNG Din Tai Fung Central Park: Central Park Shopping Centre, 28 Broadway, Chippendale NSW www.dintaifungaustralia.com.au

Central Park, Sydney’s newest, lifestyle über mall, has a smorgasbord of perky food outlets, but perhaps none perkier than Din Tai Fung. Inspired by the restaurant’s origins in Taipei, the Design Clarity interior design draws on the simplified street market/cityscape elements that are famous throughout Asia, and features a theatrical ‘display kitchen’ playing on the celebrated ‘vendors cart’, which showcases the precision and culinary skills that create the edible artwork of each dumpling. The dining space transforms into a back lane feel reminiscent of the tourist experience discovering an unexpected food haven beyond the main strip of a foreign city. Central Park, in the centre of Sydney’s student district, has five universities within walking distance. The design works to target a younger demographic and open them up to new experiences like the Xiao Long Bao — what American born Chinese

Design Clarity: (02) 9319 0933 or www.designclarity.net

chef Ken Hom calls “the best dumplings in the world.” Kristina Hetherington, Managing Director at Design Clarity is proud of the design and its ability to appeal to, and engage with, the social media-savvy demographic: “Keeping in mind the younger generation is led by social media, the space has been designed to be highly Instagram-able with supergraphic branding and an authentic hawker street bike cart which local and international Din Tai Fung fans alike can share via their social channels.” Din Tai Fung has attracted high praise since it was listed as one of the New York Times top 10 restaurants in the world in 1993. Since then, the accolades have kept coming with Michelin star status awarded and most recently being voted Good Food’s No. 1 dumpling destination in Sydney.

CHO & TELL Cho Cho San: 73 Macleay St, Potts Point NSW (02) 9331 6601 or chochosan.com.au

Having come together with the opening of The Apollo in Potts Point nearly three years ago, Restaurateurs Sam Christie and Jonathan Barthelmess have given themselves a new challenge: Cho Cho San, an interpretation of Tokyo’s izakaya. “We’ve been working really hard on The Apollo and really loving it, but wanted to start something with more of a drinks focus as well as the food,” Jonathan told venue. They’ve been spending some time in Japan and loving the culture: “We love the amazing drinking culture in Japan: the tiny bars, the buzzing izakayas and the huge variety of drinks with their deep traditions,” said Jonathan. So we’ve sourced the best sake, shochu, whisky, beer, and a wine list perfectly tailored to suit the food.” There’s also a big focus on fresh fruit-driven cocktails. They’ve managed to secure a vintage Japanese ice shaving machine — so look out for the shaved ice cocktails.

George Livissianis: georgelivissianis.com

Designer George Livissianis’ work on The Apollo clearly was appreciated as he again got the nod to deck out Cho Cho San. As is obvious, it’s a clean, minimal fitout, but inviting thanks to touches such as the distinctive lighting design, helping the restaurant to glow at night. Cho Cho San is a short stroll from The Apollo, allowing Sam and Jonathan to flit between their two babies. Potts Point might be Australia’s nearest approximation to the hustle and bustle of downtown Tokyo. There’s an excitement about this restaurant precinct and there are no shortage of locals willing to give something new a go. “We’re a mid-priced restaurant,” noted Jonathan. “We do a good quality product, but value for money is important. We’d rather people use our restaurant regularly than only on special occasions. But when they do book for an occasion, we help them to have a special night.”

DLINK UP Kwan Brothers: 43 Alfred Street, Fortitude Valley QLD www.kwanbrothers.com.au

Derlot: (07) 3129 4379 or www.derlot.com.au

Brisbane Hotelier and Midas-fingered entrepreneur Damian Griffiths’ newest venue, Kwan Brothers, is an Asian pop culture mashup of a warehouse bar featuring Asian street food. Griffiths, the man behind Alfred & Constance, Limes Hotel and Roof Top Bar, Alfredo’s Pizzeria and Chester Street, has again partnered with long-time co-conspirator, Brisbane designer Alexander Lotersztain (Derlot). “It’s a really eclectic venue marrying the grit of this old Asian food factory with a fair bit of bling and crazy pop culture references, all centring around the flame and theatre of a giant robata grill,” Griffiths said. “Again we are going for a sevenday, late-night venue. It can be kind of what you want it to be whether you enjoy it as a restaurant, a bar or even a nightclub. Cozy booths, plenty of seating, as well as plenty of standing room around the main bar. I still think there’s a lot of scope for venues with kitchens that open late in Brisbane, although there are not many people willing to give it a go.

“There’s also a hidden bar. We don’t want to give too much away but it’s Richard Boccato’s (from New York, and one of the world’s most influential bartenders) first bar project in Australia. He’s helped us style our tiki menu at Alfred & Constance three times now, but I know he’s keen to try something a bit different for Kwan Bros.” The hidden bar is tucked away behind a cold room door (pictured right), a vestige of the previous life of the warehouse. Alexander insisted in keeping the old cold room door to create a feeling of real operating cold storage. “I’d been in New York and seen these places that were hard to find and I wanted to pay homage to that. It’s a bit of fun, a bit of theatre and a completely different space from the rest of Kwans,” Griffiths said. The Derlot team made good use of Alexander’s own experiences of living in Japan, capturing the twisted street life of Asian cities from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok. The walls are combined with red neon beaming broken English

slogans down on the patrons… ‘Dlink Beer’ indeed. The bling comes through in the furniture and other ephemera, Lotersztain said. “To offset this very ‘street’ space, we developed bespoke golden furniture which reflects the light and gives the whole space a very decadent vibe. We’ve added a bit of fun with a messy cluster of disco balls at the front of the venue so people immediately have the sense that they’ve joined the ‘karaoke’ party as they step through the roller door, which was a loading dock in a previous life. Then with the red and black façade and the big red window at the front there’s an opium house meets red light district aspect which is really bold and pretty apt for this part of town if you know anything about the history of Fortitude Valley.”

Hail Taxi! Taxi Kitchen: Federation Square, Melbourne VIC (03) 9654 8808 or taxikitchen.com.au

Story: Christopher Holder Images: Stu Morley Eades&Bergman: (03) 9017 4788 or www.eadesandbergman.com

Taxi began life as a Paul Mathis lovechild. venue checked in with Paul to see how thing were going in Issue 2 back in 2004. It had Asian influences, looked super contemporary; was smart and unfussy. Then under the aegis of Michael Lambie the Taxi Dining Room became a bastion of no-compromise fine dining. In fact, it won The Age Best Restaurant gongs, riding high as a starched-linen benchmark. Sovereign Hotel Group took over the Federation Square hospitality edifice in 2009 (comprising Transport pub on the ground floor, Taxi above it and Transit cocktail bar perched in the upstairs eyrie) and it wasn’t long before management discerned that Taxi Dining Room’s salad days were over. It was leaking money and needed a reboot. Veteran hospitality ‘fixer’, Martin Webb, was brought in as Director of F&B of the Fed Square businesses and after spending a couple of months observing Taxi Dining Room in action became convinced of what its future would hold — introducing Taxi Kitchen. Taxi Kitchen is fun and informal. Head chef, Tony Twitchett (the chap pictured on the Left), has been retained, cooking up

food he describes as having a European influence, “rustic and perfect to be enjoyed at any time of the day or night”. The space has been given a refresh thanks to an Eades&Bergman (Meatball & Wine Co, Bomba Bar and Mr Miyagi) refit. In goes the new chairs and barstools, fresh fabrics, new-look terrace and flooring, and out goes the Corian and perspex. Taxi Kitchen is now earthy and approachable. According to designer Wendy Bergman the refresh was done within a super-swift three-week timeframe thanks to some savvy planning and the builder NV Projects doing much of the construction in the workshop. The most obvious big-ticket addition is the lighting feature. Many will recall the big-time pendants of the original design. These have been removed and in their place Paul Grummisch (Please Please Please Design) has installed The Journey Light. Built with tubes of untreated copper, The Journey Light evokes a metro train map, tying in with the A-to-B theme of the building. The 16m-long lighting feature lowers the apparent height of the ceiling and looks particularly fabulous from the street.

MARTIN WEBB: F&B DIRECTOR PULLS NO PUNCHES Martin Webb: I came in as Director of F&B mid 2013 and my job was to look at Sovereign Hotel Group’s four Federation Square venues: Transport, the pub; Taxi, the fine dining restaurant; the Transit cocktail rooftop bar; and Feddish, the multipurpose events space. It was my task to sort out each business: put the right managers and head chefs in place and look at the offer — the price point and quality. One of the biggest challenges I had was Taxi. Immediately, a few things rang alarm bells. For example there were 1400 wines on the list. The wine stocktake alone took 30 hours a week. Imagine paying $25 an hour for 30 hours just to do a stocktake of the wine! So I knew the costs needed to be looked at. I’ve come from a background of very structured management and despite best intentions I think Taxi had been given too long a leash. For example, they took chairs out to provide better service. So they were reducing the covers, putting more staff on; costs were up and the revenue wasn’t. For a couple of months I worked with the Taxi fine dining team, looking at everything they did. I don’t necessarily blame the previous management, but they shouldn’t have been allowed to buy so much wine. There were 120 rieslings on the list! And this is typical wine wanker territory and happens when a sommelier is given too long a leash. ‘It’s not my money; I’ll put the best wine list in the world together’. If that was the brief, that’s fine. But regardless, the list didn’t need 120 rieslings, when the majority of restaurants would be lucky to have 10. So you could have 10 and still have the best list in Australia. It was way out of control. But I had to understand it. I needed to weigh up the pros and cons of the business to make an informed decision about its future. We had to change the culture here; as well as the interiors; the look and feel; the customers’ expectations; the price point; the offer. Taxi Kitchen is a different offering. The kitchen lost 10 out of 20 of its staff. They were grossly overstaffed — people were walking around with clipboards, looking at their navels. So clearly the way the kitchen now works has changed drastically. But work practices weren’t the hardest thing to change either. It was the culture. For example, I only heard the term ‘dumb down’ once before I had to take that out of our vocabulary. Tony [Twitchett, pictured Left] is still the chef, and he’s using the same high-quality produce. So unless Tony and his team is going to go out of its way to abuse the food — which, of course, they’re not — then I don’t see Taxi Kitchen as ‘dumbed

down’. It’s simply about making smarter decisions. As it happens, Tony and his team in the kitchen are really enjoying the smaller outfit — each person is critical. To be honest, more of the front of house team has jumped ship because they don’t like the new direction. That’s fine; they believe the holy grail has been dumped out at sea. But I can name 10 amazing, world-class restaurants with wine lists of only 70 wines. So I’ve pushed those wait staff: ‘you can’t do your job with only 100 bottles? Well, maybe you’re not as good as you think you are’. I mean, there were $5000 bottles of wine on the list. Of course, Chateau Pétrus makes amazing wine but you’ll have to wait for that one person every five years to drink it. Now, the wait staff is far more relaxed. There’s more banter. Previously they weren’t allowed any of that. When I initially came here the service was cold and nonchalant. Being British, the whole point of coming to Australia is because it’s a more relaxed society. Australia does casual/smart the best. As far as customers go: some loved it the way it was and they’ve told me so. Some have said they wouldn’t bring as many corporates here as they once did but personally they’ll come more often because of the friendlier price point. Even they knew they were getting tickled on the price, but had the money to not worry about it. I think it’s also important to remember that Taxi is in a landmark location. There’s a responsibility to represent Melbourne to the world; to be open and inclusive. Previously, I recall seeing a Japanese couple coming up the stairs. They weren’t badly dressed but casually, with backpacks. It was embarrassing because they wanted to be looked after but instead they were turned away — it wasn’t quite 5pm. Now they could walk in and feel totally at ease. If you’re a bit early, that’s okay, we’ll make you comfortable at the bar. And if you’re from overseas, you want a uniquely Melbourne experience. When the Lions [rugby union tour] were here, there were groups of affluent captains of industry from the UK with their wives. They can drink all the French and Spanish wines they want in England. What I think what they really want is a truly Australian experience. And we’re doing that with the wine list now: Mornington, Yarra Valley, Gippsland, Macedon, Beechworth… about 75% of our wines are now Victorian. I worked five years with Terence Conran in the UK and his thing was always about democratic eating. And that’s what we want here. You can come more often. It’s more accessible. The price point is far better.

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE Ben May made the Manly Wharf cool. What can he do for another cultural cul de sac? Story: James Dampney Photos: Alana Dimou The Brooklyn Social: 17 Randle St, Surry Hills NSW

estled between Sydney’s CBD and neighbouring suburbs such as Redfern, Chippendale, Ultimo and Surry Hills, lies the transport hub of Central Station. Notoriously busy; notoriously grubby. On the eastern side, stairwells and narrow walkways lead to busy Chalmers and Elizabeth Streets, areas where that drab, grey feel of the station has extended its reach. A couple of worn out pubs collide with a constant flow of pedestrians doing their best to be somewhere else. Not the most obvious setting for a hip new hospitality venture. Or so it might seem. The old Central Tavern has been transformed.

YES YOU MAY Ben May, the man behind the Manly Wharf Hotel, Double Bay’s Mrs Sippy and The London Hotel in Paddington, has owned the Central Tavern for the past five years. During that time it lay dormant, but it is now the subject of enormous change, including a new restaurant at the back of the building called Brooklyn Social. “We’re calling the whole place The Hills,” said Justin Tynan, General Manager of the May Hospitality Group. “It was called the Central Tavern, but anything with ‘tavern’ in it now has certain connotations. And if you call anything ‘Central’, it just reminds people of Central Train Station, which isn’t a nice place. Hence, The Hills, being part of Surry Hills, and inside The Hills you’ve got Brooklyn Social.” Modelled on American dive bars from the 1970s, patrons of Brooklyn Social first make their way past an entrance adorned with huge black, plastic flaps you typically find hanging in meat lockers. They initially considered a secret entrance, a gimmick that has become a staple of fashionable small bars popping up around Sydney. “But then we thought, why put obstacles in front of people?” Tynan said. “We want people to find us. We’re not an exclusive venue. It’s open to anyone.”

ALL WELCOME

It’s quite a change for Tynan, who spent 13 years working with Merivale, including six years as general manager and licensee of Ivy. Ivy, particularly in its early days, was an exclusive venue with a strict door policy, but it takes all of a few seconds to realise Brooklyn Social is a very different experience. Once you’ve burst through the entrance, guests are met by a mural comprised of half-naked women during an AC/DC concert, along with shots of guitarist Angus Young on stage in his school uniform. A short flight of stairs takes you into the venue proper, where dark colours are met by a splash of photos, antiques, candles and artwork. There are hardwood floors throughout, guiding you past a collection of leather-bound banquettes and timber benches before you arrive at the bar.

The colour scheme of the old Central Tavern was basically brown on brown and the outdoor area was just filled with old men drinking jugs of beer... without a glass

DESIGN: TOMMARKHENRY A new Sydney-based design company was founded by Jade Nottage, Cushla McFadden and Chloe Matters. The collaboration has been formed after the three designers worked together on a number of large-scale projects between their two companies, markandhenry and Matters Made. With Chloeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s background in design and property development and Cushla and Jadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rounded skill set in interior architecture, this combination of experience and skills enables the young, creative trio to offer a complete design and development service to clients under their new company, TomMarkHenry. TomMarkHenry: 0457 078 132 or tommarkhenry.com

The venue has a warm, lived-in feel, but what makes it all the more remarkable is how long it took to come together. “We gave ourselves four weeks,” Tynan explains. “In the building works here there was an old banquette from the previous tenant, so we just chopped them up and turned them into tables. We sanded back some existing tables, got in some new chairs, but clad all the walls back in the original timber. We reclaimed the old smoking room into something more usable. “The colour scheme of the old Central Tavern was basically brown on brown and the outdoor area was just filled with old men drinking jugs of beer… without a glass. So we wanted to bring a fresh element to it. “The colours are influenced by the ‘70s, but it’s mixed in with a sun-kissed beach theme. Brooklyn Social enjoys amazing natural sunlight — we’re drenched from about 2pm — and the whole beer garden becomes an amazing space. People will form their own opinion, but to me it’s almost an oasis in this end of town.”

PUB LESS TRAVELLED May has a track record of buffing rough diamonds. After turning around the fortunes of the Light Brigade and The London Hotel, he set about defying the naysayers with his transformation of the Manly Wharf Hotel.

Eleven years ago, the wharf itself was a shadow of what it is today. A carousel and an arcade parlour were some of the key landmarks. “Every single pub Ben set up, everyone said ‘you’re crazy’,” Tynan said. “Manly Wharf was no different. Everyone he spoke to said ‘you’re an idiot’. No one is in Manly, Manly Wharf is a s**thole. Look at it now. Not only that, you’ve got some of the biggest players in the industry moving over there because of what he’s done.” The heavyweights include, Justin Hemmes, Tynan’s former boss at Merivale, and the group behind Hugo’s Bar Pizza in Kings Cross, which have established venues at the wharf in the years since.

EYE ON THE HILLS Manly Wharf Hotel remains the group’s ‘bread and butter’ but right now Tynan’s focus is on The Hills. Considering the obstacles he faced at Merivale, particularly the introduction of the CBD’s tough new liquor licensing laws in the entertainment precinct, Tynan is relishing the challenge. “The beauty of the Brooklyn Social is it has a 2am licence and it’s out of the entertainment precinct — just,” he said. “By a couple of streets. We’re not a nightclub and we’re not trying to be a nightclub, contrary to what the authorities believed. But I think they realise that now. Our focus is on food.” And the area is all the better for it.

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RUNNING IN THE FAMILY Cecconi’s: 61 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC (03) 8663 0500 or cecconis.com

Cecconi’s is all about family. Since the ’80s the Bortolotto family has been presenting its vision of modern Italian cuisine to Melbourne. Directors Olimpia and Maria Bortolotto provide a matriarchal aegis over the current crop of Bortolotto’s, including daughters who actively manage the restaurant as well as a fresh crop of grandchildren learning the trade during school breaks. All while the previous generations watch on, looking down with benign and sometimes amused approval from family photographs that adorn the walls of the new fitout. In other words, for Cecconi’s, family is real, not a flat-packed, Dolmio-grin, convenient PR angle. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a time when there’s not at least two Bortolottos on the floor of the restaurant. The name Cecconi’s came to prominence during its Crown casino stint from 1996. It was here that it became a corporate market favourite, doing a roaring lunch trade as well as a popular dinner service. The switch to Flinders Lane in 2006 was the right one. The Crown site might have provided the Bortolottos with profile, but the CBD location better reflected the soul of the restaurant. Early this year, the final touches were made to a refit master-

Mollard Interiors: (03) 9419 6006 or www.mollardinteriors.com.au

minded by Mollard Interiors. The result is a very modern space with a restricted colour palette but plenty of textures and tonal contrasts. The white wash timber tables with copper edging (made by Don, Maria’s husband), combined with the black bentwood chairs, low black dome pendant lights and copper wall lights, create an inviting space. “You have to keep investing in your premises,” remarked Olimpia to venue. “If you don’t you get left behind; you die. But you don’t have to spend millions either. The Mollard design has given as a total transformation without breaking the bank.” According to Olimpia, Cecconi’s has had a terrifically profitable year thus far and she’s delighted with the results of the renovations. And like all great restaurateurs isn’t resting on her laurels: “In this day and age, with so many choices for the consumer, you have to adapt and respond. Thankfully our head chef, Daniel Kranjcic, is an innovator. And as a family we travel and experience the trends internationally. Saying that, we’re quite conservative, and consistency is important for us. If you’re consistent, you survive.” And, even better; you can thrive.

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HOLY FRIJOLES

PIGGING OUT

Mad Mex: www.madmex.com.au

Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta: 3/75-79 Hall St, Bondi NSW

Mad Mex restaurants are sprouting up all over greater Sydney. But none as fun and as eye catching as this recent iteration. McCartney Design used Mexican street cafés and taquerías as inspiration. Authenticity aside, being in a busy mall you need to be noticed. So the new-format animated sign has really come into its own, with impact like a Wile E Coyote booby trap gone haywire. The frathouse-bating Corona chandelier is something else, while the Nacho Libre-style Luchador mural helps complete the “branded environment”. Mad Mex is doing some tidy business, so expect to see the McCartney Design in a food court near you. (Photo: Steve Back.)

Maurice Terzini’s new osteria, Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, is now in full swing in Bondi. Head chef Orazio D’Elia (Icebergs Dining Room & Bar and Popolo) is responsible for the food, which you could describe as simple, fresh-flavoured Italian (Terzini describes it as “Rick Owens comes to Bondi” — make of that as you will). Architects, Herbert & Mason has worked closely with Terzini to achieve the simplistic yet functional design aesthetic. The wood-fired pizza is something special as is The Porchetta, a whole Berkshire pig cooked on a rotisserie for about six hours. Herbert & Mason: www.herbertmason.com

McCartney Design: (02) 8958 0171 or mccartneydesign.com.au

LOAD OF BULL (& BEAR)

CHEZ CHIC

Bull & Bear: Aurora Place/16 Phillip Ln, Sydney NSW

Chez Carl: Ile-des-Soeurs, QC Canada

Located at Aurora Place in Sydney’s CBD (formally Aurora Bar) and over two levels, the new interior for Bull & Bear Sydney is a contemporary take on a gentleman’s club with deep leather chesterfield banquettes, aged steel windows with ribbed glass panels, brass detailing and a mix of timber floorboards and mosaic floor tiles. The aim was to appeal to all the bankers, traders and financiers in the surrounding area which lent itself blokey design. Every piece of furniture and lighting was bespoke, including upholstered leather arm chairs and bar stools with metal studs, tiled marble tops, zinc dining tables, huge cantilevered copper-spun wall lights and leather shade pendants.

Here’s a Montreal ring-in that caught our eye. Apparently inspired by the fractal theory, the designer Jean de Lessard delivers an amazing interpretation of nature’s geometry and its wonderful irregularities with the restaurant Chez Carl Tapas & BBQ. There’s plenty of asymmetry and what Jean calls ‘strucptures’ (structure/sculpture). The sculptural walls are as practical as aesthetic; the Danish felt that covers them absorbs sound – apparently the “noise is muffled even when the restaurant is filled to full capacity”. Jean de Lessard uses plenty of maple in this project as bit of an inside joke with fellow Québécois. (Photo: Adrien Williams)

Edge Design Studio: 404 958 717 or www.mandyedge.com

Jean de Lessard: www.delessard.com

HEART GROWS FONDA

HOLDING COURT

Fonda: 31 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC

New Hampton: 15 Bayswater Road, Potts Point NSW

Riding the Mexican wave of success from Chapel Street, Windsor, Fonda has opened its doors with a restaurant in Flinders Lane, Melbourne. The new location is the third to join the Fonda family but it was a spot that had been a graveyard for previous ventures. Techné Architects decided to break down the large tenancy into more intimate spaces. Techne designed bespoke furniture — booths, banquettes and tables with a picnic/park bench feel. The lighting scheme has the look of the chaotic power lines of suburban Mexico, combined with custom Inkster Maken pendants.

Built over 90 years ago, the Hampton Court Hotel is a Kings Cross institution. And now it has a new face: New Hampton. “Our intention was to bring ‘The Rocks to The Cross’.” says owner, venue debutante, and one-time touring trumpet player, Kieran Coleman. New Hampton is a 450-person venue, complete with two separate bar areas, a finedining restaurant (Harvest @ New Hampton), VIP area with 100 person capacity, nightclub, pokies room, and smoking area. Solid timber bars, exposed wooden beams, caesar stone walling, and beautifully hand crafted tiles inset haphazardly into the concrete flooring, create an intimate and warm atmosphere.

Techne: www.techne.com.au

SHANGHAI LOWDOWN

PLEASED WITH PUNCH

New Shanghai: Emporium, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, VIC

Punch Lane: 43 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC

New Shanghai is expanding its empire once again, with a new restaurant in Melbourne’s super-swanky Emporium shopping centre. The 120-seat restaurant will serve up New Shanghai’s signature Chinese cuisine inspired by traditional delicacies found on the streets of Shanghai. With vintage Chinese posters, plants wrapped around ornate metal screens, and hand-laid cobblestone tiles, the Emporium branch exudes an atmosphere of authenticity, transporting diners straight to a 1930s Shanghai street. From humble beginnings as a local dumpling haunt in Sydney’s north shore, the New Shanghai empire has expanded to eight restaurants located across Sydney, Brisbane and now Melbourne, as well as an international offering in Shanghai itself.

Melbourne laneway gem Punch Lane entered its 20th year in July and, thanks to a minor facelift has never looked better. Owner Martin Pirc, who literally laid the foundations for Punch Lane’s success when he installed the restaurant’s floorboards 20 years ago, said the recent menu update and refurbishment by Rabindra Naidoo Design is part of a natural journey for the venue. A refocus on wine and charcuterie necessitated a few changes: including a custom hand-operated ‘olive yellow’ meat slicer, behind a new cured meat fridge and a marble wet bar with sparkling water on tap. “We deliberately fitted Punch Lane with objects that age well, and we’ve kept with that philosophy,” Mr Pirc said. Rabindra Naidoo Design: naidoo.butterpaper.com

OPEN TO ELEMENT

QUTE

Amara Hotel: 100 Tras Street, Singapore

Qsan: One Central, Chippendale, Australia

An international visitor to these pages, this refit of a house café/restaurant in Singapore’s Amara Hotel caught our fancy. Designphase dba was responsible for the Element Café design and it’s big on the beauty of natural products, such as herringbone–pattern laid marble and timber floor, which supports the fresh and natural produce displayed on the long buffet, stretching the full length of the restaurant. The buffet, designed as individual ‘tables’ showcasing the delicious offerings look more elegant and light as individual elements.

Describing itself as Sydney’s first Yakitori express store, Qsan, trades in the One Central food court. Morris Selvatico took care of the design looking at similar food concepts popular in Singapore and keeping the look youthful and vibrant. The design team opted for solid timber dowel cladding to the counter along with a combination of tiles, white Corian and perforated metal to form the remainder of the structure. The bright yellow from the Qsan logo was used internally to create a ‘pop-out’ effect from the clean and crisp white kiosk exterior. Custom made herb pots add a playful touch to reflect the essence of the brand. (Photo: Andrew Eliane.)

Designphase dba: www.designphasedba.com

Morris Selvatico: 0414 874 202 or www.morrisselvatico.com

Le Japanese

DON’T PISS OFF THE GNOMES

Owners of Salon De Sushi wanted to refresh the ‘sushi bar’ concept through their interior design and visual identity. The desire was to be classic yet original and create a strong identity that would potentially carry them to an iconic chain of ‘salons’ that will become instantly recognisable to sushi lovers. The Studio Equator fitout is sophisticated yet simple. Each table is fixed to the wall teamed with the feature floor tiles that crawl up the walls and across the ceiling, creating a distinctive box-shaped dining table that reflects the polished boxed packaging concept in life size form. Industrial Tom Dixon copper and gold pendant lights above each table are like an an origami structure.

It’s an invitation that’s hard to ignore: ‘come join the gnomes in The Courtyard’. The fitout is constructed mainly from recycled timber palettes, reclaimed bricks from the surrounding tenancies and a whole lotta astroturf. It’s salvaged kitschy cool; it’s about fun and bucketloads of it. The seating options offer various levels of quirk. Booth seating inside with the gnomes; at the bar for a jar of beer with the (decorative) jars; or alfresco with the flamingos, under the warm glow of Edison bulbs and colourful rainbow brollies, the (fake) lush lawn between your toes. Simone Barr of new archi/interiors firm, Daarc, has fun with this, and it shows.

Studio Equator: (03) 9510 88 55 or www.studioequator.com

Daarc Architecture+Interiors: 0403 892 940 or www.daarc.com.au

Salon De Sushi: 293 Clarendon St, South Melbourne VIC

The Courtyard: 373 Flinders St, Townsville City QLD

PRECIOUS METAL Coppersmith is a true boutique hotel and pub for inner suburban Melbourne. Story: Christopher Holder Coppersmith: 435 Clarendon St, South Melbourne VIC www.coppersmithhotel.com

eorge Bagios is a big-hearted, garrulous guy who, along with his father Con, has been developing property and running hospitality venues for decades. Some nine years back father and son harboured a desire to own a pub in South Melbourne. But here’s the thing: George is from Perth, and, as we all know, when it comes to hospitality, Perth is like another country… in fact, many in Perth would prefer if it was another country. Regardless, back in 2006, George sat in his car outside the Cricket Club Hotel on Clarendon St and gazed longingly at its commanding corner position and at its elegant Victorian-era proportions… he may have even whispered ‘My Precious’. The Cricket Club Hotel wasn’t for sale, but two days later, George made it his own. Fast forward to 2012, and George phones Hassell. He’s put through to Susan Standring, the firm’s hospitality head. George conveys his vision for the Cricket Club Hotel — a family pub, with a serious food offering, and boutique accommodation — and conveys some of his enthusiasm, which is infectious. Hassell is engaged: game on!

JUST NOT CRICKET

After considerable consultation, George and Susan decided the best course of action would be to preserve the facade and demolish the rest of the building. In so doing, the two-level building could be transformed into three. The ground floor with the public bar and restaurant would maintain the original high ceilings while two levels of accommodation could comfortably fit above. Perfect. For months, the locals, as they went about their daily business of walking the labradoodle or heading to chambers with a double-shot macchiato, tried to sneak a look behind the work site hoardings. Word got out that Hassell was taking care of the design; that it was going to look just

a little bit special. The cranes dropped the steel structure in, and the tradies occupied the site in a blur of hi-viz and ice coffee. Suffice it to say, the Cricket Club Hotel never returned, but something far more refined took its place. “We knew we couldn’t call it Cricket Club Hotel,” said George. “Someone would tell you they had a night at the ‘Cricketers’ and you wouldn’t know if they were talking about us, Port Melbourne or, heaven help us, Richmond.” The boutique hotel’s name also draws on the history of the area; it sits on the corner of Thomson St, named for Ebenezer Drummond Menzies Thomson, a coppersmith by trade and Mayor of South Melbourne in the early 1900s. As the name suggests, there’s a bespoke quality to the fitout: “All joinery throughout the Coppersmith is bespoke, with many of the accent details interpreting elements from the hotel’s past,” Susan said. A large, horse-shoe-shaped public bar dominates the ground floor with views to the rear kitchen. A variety of seating options are available and the areas are subtly demarcated by the pattern of the timber flooring: herringbone here and tessellated squares there. The kitchen provides service to the whole pub, but there’s more private restaurant seating. The restaurant’s cuisine is a cut above regular pub fare but not ‘too cool for school’ either. Daniel Southern was in charge of Comme before the Van Haandels decided to reappropriate that space for Stokehouse City, so he’s no slouch. “Doesn’t matter what a person’s reputation is, I’ve got to be able to get along with them as people,” noted George. “Daniel’s been great to work with. When he came here about the job he appreciated what we’d done with the kitchen and only had one layout suggestion. I made sure that was altered within 24 hours.”

the Cricket Club Hotel never returned, but something far more refined took its place

COPPERSMITH: WIRED FOR SOUND Rutledge AV installed a distributed background PA system, based on the aesthetically pleasing Bose DS100E loudspeaker (without subs), with separate zones for the restaurant, the bar and the rooftop terrace. Rutledge also wrote the iPad control app that allows staff to wirelessly control sound levels, select video sources and operate the projector and screen automation. Rutledge AV: (03) 9488 1500 or www.rutledge.com.au Photo: Dianna Snape

Bose Australia: www.pro.bose.com

Photo: James Morgan

Oak & Elm: 0406 198 438 or oakandelm.com.au

Ross Gardam: (03) 9329 4145 or rossgardam.com.au

Living Edge: 1300 132 154 or livingedge.com.au

Jardan: (03) 9548 8866 or jardan.com.au

BONA FIDE BOUTIQUE ‘Boutique’ is a word that can be as easily applied to a stadium as a hotel, and occasionally applied to 200-room hotels with global operations. Coppersmith Hotel, with its 15 rooms, is a bona fide boutique hotel in size and attitude. Regulars will appreciate the family atmosphere and get to know the staff and rhythms of the hotel. Weekenders will love the relaxed ambience. The design of the rooms reflects this. Hassell’s Susan Standring has designed many an opulent room, but the Coppersmith required a more deft touch, with playful detail and hidden design gems. “There are ‘givens’ in any room like this — a pillow menu, a comfortable bed — but ultimately I wanted the room to feel relaxed,” recalled Susan. “The rooms aren’t huge, but they’re not pokey either — I believe we’ve maximised the space well. “For example, we needed a writing desk in each room but it’s not as important as if it was a room in the Hyatt. Guests are more likely to look at email or do some work in the bar or restaurant, and wi-fi is more important than an in-room desk. So we were able to have some fun with that, and not be too literal. “The bathrooms are only a little over 4sqm but we were able to recess the cistern and use the space above as an extension of the ledge, again, maximising the space.” There are many more playful touches, such as

leather strap draw handles, bright splashes of colour in the wardrobe and a copper edge to the luggage rack and more. It’s an inspired and inspiring place to be. George commissioned local lighting designer Ross Gardam to design the bedside lights, while Living Edge and Jardan provided the furniture.

DECK TO DIE FOR Rounding out the hotel’s features is a timberdecked rooftop bar that accommodates up to 40 cocktail guests and affords amazing views over the Melbourne skyline. There’s no question it’ll be a function favourite. And each local that saunters into the pub for a pot might easily be booking that next function. South Melbourne is an affluent suburb, but arguably quite a bit more relaxed than the old-money suburbs. And here’s where the Coppersmith comes into its own. “We have a regular who’s a partner in one of the big city law firms,” observed George. “He can come in here in his suit, or his board shorts and be at home. Seems like everyone around here is a lawyer or a stock broker. Friendly suburb, though. And that’s what we want the Coppersmith to be, part of this community.” I’d suggest George and his team are off to a flying start. Hassell: (03) 8102 3000 or www.hassellstudio.com

Photo: Dianna Snape

INTRODUCING THE NEW

TUNGSTEN SMART-HEAT™ PORTABLE AS SEEN AT THE GOLDEN SHEAF DOUBLE BAY, SYDNEY

THE COMPLETE SOLUTION

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GREEN MACHINE Another storied suburban corner pub is given the Sand Hill Road treatment. This time with a green twist. Story: Christopher Holder Photos: Shannon McGrath The Terminus Hotel: 605 Victoria St, Abbotsford VIC (03) 9427 0615 or theterminushotel.com.au

and Hill Road pub group has done it again. And I’m not talking about the fact it’s opened another kick-arse suburban pub (it has), or that the Sand Hill Road boys have artfully resuscitated another Victorian era rough-diamond gem (which indeed they have), or detonated another design stun grenade thanks to a longstanding partnership with Techne Architecture and Visual Builders (that’s true as well). No, I’m talking about Sand Hill Road absorbing another ‘local’ from its collective youth into the burgeoning mini empire. The Prahran Hotel [Issue 53] was Matt and Andy Mullins local in the mid ’90s, and now The Terminus gets ‘collected’ as a local of three of the four Sand Hill Road partners. Struggling publicans in the Richmond/Abbotsford area of Melbourne could do worse than research any other locals the Sand Hill Road partners frequented 20-odd years ago. Matt Mullins: “At the time we were planning our first pub, The Terminus was our local — we shared a house 100m down the road. We’d come here, drink and chat about whether being publicans would be right for us; whether it was sustainable; what our first pub would look like. I’m not sure if we ever sat in this pub and thought ‘we’ll own this one day’ but it was a big inspiration for us.” That pub was owned by Alison Whyte and Fred Whitlock who took the eclectic bohemian vibe of nearby Fitzroy and designed a pub that was a happening, energetic hub for students and locals. It had the legacy tight spaces and compartmentalised small-room layout so common of suburban corner pubs, but as Matt recalls there was always a generously proportioned beer garden that would prove to be a future jewel in the crown. Come 2012 when Sand Hill Road took over the pub, nothing much was left of The Terminus. It was derelict and squatters had moved in. That said, Matt still carried a torch: “The bars, the kitchen, the kitsch memorabilia was gone. But it still had the same soul.”

SUPER FRIENDS

Sand Hill Road enjoys one of the longest and most fruitful professional partnerships in Australia hospitality. The pub group, Techne Architects and Visual Builders have collaborated on some 13 different projects and the innate trust between the three parties has resulted in some extraordinary new venues. Visual Builders boss, Tony Lewis, puts it bluntly: “It’s thanks to our relationship that we’re able to build pubs that lots of people in the industry would like to have, but can’t.” Tony’s not necessarily big-noting himself, but simply stating that when high quality design, operational know-how, and expert workmanship combines with the threesome’s unique working relationship, magic happens. Matt elaborates: “We’ve developed a way of working, a shorthand, that’s priceless.” That shorthand was immediately activated, according to Matt: “We had to move fast. With the other pub rebuilds we were able to operate them while we worked on the plans. Not here. There was no way we could run The Terminus, we would have to drop a lot of money to get it operational and it would have been money we’d never get back.” Techne Architects began to drip feed plans to Visual Builders, enough for Tony and his team to begin the demolition. With each stage, Tony could give

Best Fronds Forever: “In some ways this an ode to the old Terminus. It’s a space for a DJ and dancing; and it’s a bit kitsch, with wallpaper on the ceiling. A loud, sculptural bar finishes off an offbeat space. It’s still connected to the pub, overlooking to the public bar and the beer garden.” — Justin Northrop

Sand Hill Road a cost estimate. Sounds great? But unequivocally the consensus from Justin Northrop (Techne Director), Tony and Matt is ‘don’t try this at home’. Without ‘blood brother’-style trust, costs and budgets can quickly spiral out of control. Justin Northrop explains: “Working on an existing building has plenty of its own complexities. You understand the building better after demolition, it makes the next stage’s decisions easier. So there are upsides. The main downside is budget related. If it wasn’t for the unknown of how much it’ll end up costing, being more flexible might even be a better way to work. But that’s where the tensions arise — how much is it all going to cost?”

OPEN GARDEN The team’s approach might sound freewheeling and laissez-faire, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sand Hill Road has become a significant pub operator by combining a ballsy approach to innovation, a reverence for community pub fundamentals, a forensic refinement of op-

erations, and an instinctive appreciation of what punters enjoy. So by the time the jackhammers were unleashed, Sand Hill Road and Techne had the design down. Justin Northrop: “The garden space was the centrepiece. We looked at integrating outdoor spaces at The Prahran Hotel and The Bridge Hotel and they all exceeded expectations.” Matt Mullins: “We’ve learnt over the years that Melburnians are uniquely determined to be outside whenever they can — come hail or shine. If Melbourne was always warm and dry, people would be outside all day, every day of the year. In response, we’ve spent a lot of energy fighting to provide outdoor spaces. We’ve tried to make indoor spaces, outdoor spaces, and it’s been difficult. Meanwhile, the Terminus has always had a huge beer garden — no need to knock anything over or get council approval. We knew it was a great gift.” The result is a suburban oasis. A discovery not obvious from the street. Its double height contributes to the drama, while the skewed forest of col-

umns affords the area the look of a sophisticated bamboo forest. Some of the planting is synthetic indoors but the mature trees are very much real, and ensure this beer garden is verdant and inviting. But this is Melbourne and you could easily freeze your butt off much of the year, so a battery of wall-mounted Bromic gas heaters comfortably takes the edge off when required.

WHAT’S UP? Do a lap of The Terminus (or have a look at the accompanying photos) and it’s striking to observe just how much of the seating is fixed or banquette style. Justin reckons around 80%, in fact: “It shows confidence in the design. There’s no hedging our bets in the way the space will be used — we’ve come to conclusions about the best use for each space and backed it. The spinoff is that fixed furniture is more comfortable and neater — circulation isn’t messed up by chairs dragged across the room.” It’s these operational shibboleths that mean the

Dream Team: Justin Northrop (Director, Techne Architects), Matt Mullins (Director, Sand Hill Road) and Tony Lewis (Director, Visual Builders) enjoy a drop of something cold and unpasteurised.

Made From Beer: The Terminus is the third outing for CUB’s unpasteurised Carlton Draught initiative. The fresh brew takes the short trip from the Abbotsford brewery in a tanker and gets piped into The Terminus canisters. More than a nice marketing tale to tell, there are practical advantages. The Terminus carries 60 kegs’ worth of the brew on site. There’s considerable space saving in that, as well as the time advantage from not needing to change those 60 kegs across four or so days.

most. Hard-worn experience winning out. Matt Mullins: “We’ve learnt a lot about traffic flow over the years, especially about how to get people upstairs. Having the stairs visible from the front door is important. If you make the upper floor visible, so people can see up there — even better. For The Terminus, Techne designed a void. So you come in the front doors and within a couple of metres you can see the next level— you can’t miss the fact there’s a whole other floor. As a result the balconies overlooking the courtyard are well frequented — you’ve got to make it easy for people.” Justin Northrop: “You can’t attract people upstairs with a lick of paint and some new light fittings. Often you have to make major structural modifications to get a meaningful connection to the lower levels. It’s not a cheap exercise, so you have to back yourself that it’ll make a return.”

unlock the code to enticing people past the front bar, but they’re one of the best. Perhaps The Terminus Hotel’s coup de grâce is the back bar. Originally conceived as a ‘campsite’ with its shingles and a fireplace, the team knew something special was required to avoid the back end of the pub being a no-go cul de sac. If this bar was in Chinatown you’d hide it down an alley behind a dumpster and it would instantly be a ‘best kept secret’ hipsters’ bolthole. As it happens, it’s a rewarding destination for those exploring the pub. The fireplace didn’t make the cut but the installed ropes forming cabana-style seating options did, and they’re quickly proving to be a favourite. Ensuring the amenity of the area, a big chunk of floor space has been devoted to a bar. As you’d expect, Sand Hill Road has given this aspect of the design plenty of consideration as well. Matt: “The Terminus has really made us think KNOW THE FLOW about the number of bars, allocation of bars and Sand Hill Road doesn’t profess to be the first to accessibility of bars to be efficient. Most pubs

every extra bar could add another $50,000 − But that’s the money you need to spend, to make money when the money’s there to be made are probably only at peak capacity for about eight hours a week — Friday and Saturday night between the hours of 8pm and 12. And that’s when most pubs need to make hay. There’s no point having 100 people standing three deep at the bar, because that’s the time when you need to make your money. It’s a challenge to design a pub for eight hours a week. Ideally you want more bar space during those periods, but every extra bar could add another $50,000 to the cost of the fitout. But that’s the money you need to spend, to make money when the money’s there to be made. As a result, we’ve really increased our linear bar meterage per patron in this pub. We have more bars and improved the accessibility. You don’t need to move more than 10m or so to stand at a bar.” Contacts Techne Architecture: (03) 9600 0222 or www.techne.com.au Visual Builders: (03) 9533 5860 or www.visualbuilders.com.au Bromic Heating: 1300 731 280 or bromicheating.com

Bob Family

Malmö Dining Chair

Named after one of the most beautiful beaches in San Sebastian, Ondaretta’s product development is based on three premises: elegant design, excellent service and a high quality/price ratio. The gentle shapes, which define Ondaretta’s Bob chair, are a nod to the organic softness of nature. Bob family members include: Bob chair steel, Bob chair wood, Bob armchair wood and Bob armchair wood with arms — each designed for relaxing in perfect harmony. An upholstered seat pad option completes the story.

Bronda is the fifth restaurant by Helsinki’s culinary duo Tomi Björck and Matti Wikberg. The restaurant interior, designed by the studio Futudesign Oy, relies heavily on the 250 Malmö collection dining chairs from Italian manufacturer Pedrali. Thanks to a skilful wooden manufacturing and the possibility to customise the ash shell with a wide range of upholstering, Malmö conveys a sensation of comfort, warm welcoming and familiarity to the surrounding environments.

Ajar: (03) 9417 0015 or www.ajar.com.au

Cafe Culture + Insitu: (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au

Calf Chair

Stellar Screen

Calf Chair is the latest addition to the growing collection of Australian made timber furniture by Sydney-based DesignByThem. Inspired by designs of the ’60s but reinterpreted with 21st century technology and materials, Calf is both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally durable. The dense FSC timber used to make the Calf Chair is sure to last the test of time. Price: $1350 (Photo: Pete Daly & Nicole England.)

Stellar functions as a sculptural screening or wayfinding device, room divider, and/or simply our viewing pleasure as a 3D wall artwork or ceiling relief. It’s designed by Christina Waterson and manufactured in Melbourne by Tait. There are four patterns to choose from, and each is fabricated from aluminium sheet that’s folded and powercoated.

DesignedByThem: (02) 8005 4805 or www.designbythem.com

www.madebytait.com.au

Emerson Hits Roof The Emerson [Issue 55] has another string to its bow — a retractable roof! The rooftop with motorised runners was designed by the project architects at Newline Design. Director Jon Mikulic is justifiably proud: “This roof system is the first of its kind at this scale for a hospitality venue and enables year round use of a breathtaking space that needs to be seen to be truly appreciated.” With stunning views from South Yarra to Melbourne’s CBD skyline, the space boasts two large bars areas, an extensive food and drink menu, a live cooking station as well as a cushion lined deck. Newline Design: (03) 9521 4144

Nub Chair The Nub collection, designed by Patricia Urquiola and composed of an attractive line of sofas and chairs with natural wood structures that offer a bunch of colour combinations for their structures and upholstery. Nub is the result of a sophisticated cabinet-making process, which sees the cylindrical bars widening in the backrest at the height of the lumbar region — a nice touch. From $1721.70. Ke-Zu: 1300 724 174 or www.kezu.com.au

Compact Power

Hyatt Plugs Into Ruckus Wi-Fi

Dynacord’s compact PM502 powered mixer includes five mic/line and three stereo inputs and a master section with three master outputs — each with an individual seven-band EQ. So it means bars, bistros, small clubs, hotel lounges and houses of worship can set up three different rooms or zones and be controlled individually. The PM502 can also be switched to 100V Direct Drive mode for direct connection to 100V or 70V loudspeaker lines without the need of an output transformer, which is often required for installations. The built-in Class-D amp rated at 2 x 450W (RMS/4Ω) provides plenty of power to drive a complete mobile sound system. There’s an onboard media player and more. Price: $1699.

Hyatt Hotels Australia has taken on Ruckus Wireless to provide wi-fi for its five Australian properties. In total, Hyatt Hotels has deployed 585 Ruckus access points across its hotels. “Comprehensive and reliable wi-fi coverage was one of the major issues we were facing before investing in Ruckus Wireless access points,” noted Raymond Cheng, Area Information Systems Manager — Pacific, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. “Our nine-storey Hyatt Regency Perth required almost 200 access points throughout the whole property but there was still a lack of coverage. We’ve now reduced the total access points from 200 to less than 100 thanks to Ruckus, while at the same time improved much stronger coverage.”

Bosch Communications Systems: (02) 9683 4752 or boschcomms@au.bosch.com

Ruckus Wireless: www.ruckuswireless.com

Mackie: Comet Tale

d&b: Royale With Cheese

These Mackie DLM loudspeakers have been on a scene a little while, but it was good to see them in action here. Ten Mackie DLM8 full-range powered loudspeakers along with a pair of DLM12S subs were installed into a venue called the Comet Tavern in Seattle. Apparently the SWM300 wall mount brackets were a breeze to work with and the speakers are nicely low-profile to fit into the folksy vibe of the joint.

Pink Cadillac, Moscow, lays on the roller skating waitresses, burgers and shakes. Good fun. But the acoustics and PA was serious business. The room uses d&b T-Series T10 loudspeakers with T-Subs flown in an array. Despite its compact size, it covered the room with clarity and the right bass response.

CMI (Mackie): (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

National Audio Systems: (03) 8756 2600 or www.nationalaudio.com.au

The new Evolution Wireless Series 1800MHz Clear Spectrum Australia-wide

Hilton Ballroom Blitz Staging Connections and Hilton Brisbane have announced the completion of a major upgrade of the Grand Ballroom’s audio visual systems. At the heart of the upgrade is the transition to a cutting edge digital fibre infrastructure, which now offers a superior level of brightness and clarity of images via ultra-sharp Christie projection and 16:9 motorised screens. The lighting system has been centralised, with the installation of a world class touchscreen control pad to manage the recently added 48 computerised ceiling fixtures and digital audio consoles. Staging Connections: www.stagingconnections.com

Up Close To Remote This is interesting: The PreSonus RM series is based on its proven StudioLive mixing platform, but the idea here is you put the hardware on stage (like a stage box) and then mix via your iPad/laptop/Windows Surface. The 3U rackmount RM16AI provides 16 locking XLR inputs with recallable preamps, 8 XLR line outs, and 3 main outs; 32 internal channels and 25 buses; a 52x34 FireWire recording interface; and lots of signal processing. There’s a 4U RM32AI version and plenty more features. National Audio Systems: (03) 8756 2600 or sales@nationalaudio.com.au

For more information on Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless Series, 1800 648 628, sales@sennheiser.com.au or visit www.sennheiser.com.au

Clipp: My Shout

Here’s a neat Aussie innovation that’s come just at the right time: Clipp. I know most of you will have seen it in action, considered taking it on, or are actively using it night to night at your venue. But for those at the back of the class, here’s the lowdown from a venue’s perspective. Here’s how it works: the customer opens the app (iOS or Android) on their smartphone; connects with the Clipp venue they’re in; selects which linked credit card they want to charge to; sets the limit of the tab; and submits it. Clipp talks to the venue’s POS (Clipp can converse with 10 of the most popular POS providers), and sends the patron back a tab number. The customer orders their drinks and shows the bar staff his/her tab number on their phone. This continues up until the moment the patron is ready to leave. They close the tab on their phone and the amount is settled without needing any intervention from the bar staff. It’s fiendishly easy, and surely falls into the ‘no brainer’ category. And I mentioned that it’s come ‘just at the right time’ because of the August 1st PIN requirement. A larger venue may have 10 or more credit cards left behind the bar at the end of a busy night. In days gone by, the bar staff would match each card to a tab and settle the till. Those days are over. Now, the venue needs to wait for the customer to come in and collect the card. It’s another level of admin no one needs.

FAIR OL’ CLIPP Clipp Director Greg Taylor is an ideas man and a man who know he’s onto something: “Ask any venue operator about tabs and they all say the same thing: people spend more money. Some customers are loath to start a tab because of the hoops they need to jump through, while a traditional tab can be a pain for operators because staff are spending time going through the motions when they could be serving. With Clipp you can open a tab within 10 seconds. And if you make the process easier for people, they’re more likely to open that tab. So this product helps increase revenue.” How does Clipp make its money? It takes a couple of points from each Clipp transaction — 2% for Mastercard/Visa and 3% for Amex. Naturally Greg believes it’s worth every cent: “The beauty of Clipp is that the tabs are pre-authorised, there’s no risk to the venue. If a customer forgets to settle their tab then those Clipp tabs are closed at settlement come closing time. No risk.”

TAPPING LOCAL TAPHOUSE venue checked in with Justin Joiner, Venue Manager

of Local Taphouse in St Kilda, to hear about his experiences working with Clipp for some months. “It’s been fantastic. Increasingly people want to pay with a credit card, and traditionally it’s been a clunky process. Clipp has streamlined that transaction. In fact, it’s quicker than cash. “When a customer asks to set up a tab we encourage them to use Clipp and gradually we’re seeing a reduction in traditional tabs and we’re all happy about that. No one likes spending an extra 20 minutes at the end of the night putting card payments through when all you want to do is go home. And, like everyone else, we’ve had problems with people leaving expired cards with us and cards that have been rejected by the bank. “I think Clipp’s cut is fair. Especially if you consider how much it costs for a customer to use an ATM.”

MARKETING & METRICS Of course, whenever your customers are electronically ‘checking in’, as they are with an app like Clipp, there are powerful metrics and marketing opportunities available. Whenever a customer opens a tab in your venue, you know who they are, their email address, and, via your POS, where their F&B preferences lie. Use that information to target your promotions: “It’s performance-based marketing,” points out Greg. “You might offer your Clipp customer the promise of a free drink but in return they’re physically showing up to your venue and most likely starting another tab.” Around 240 early-adopter venues have taken on Clipp in Australia with a couple of the big pub chains set to trial the system this year. All in favour, say ‘aye’. — Christopher Holder. Clipp: www.clipp.co

Clipp has streamlined that transaction. In fact, it’s quicker than cash

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Academy Aces Test with Robe

House Light Colour

Top nightclub The Academy in Canberra is benefiting from a new Robe moving light installation — supplied by Elite Sound & Light and designed to ensure the popular EDM club nights and visiting live artists can enjoy the very best lighting and visual experiences. The Elite spec was concerned with flexibility and variety. The Robe fixtures chosen are LEDWash 600s, DLS Spots and Pointes, all from the Robin series. Eight of each. The new rig is three times the size of the previous lighting system but consumes less than half the power!

The new Chroma-Q Inspire Mini LED house light is a powerful and compact, multi-purpose creative lighting tool that harnesses the core tech from the Chroma-Q Color Force range. The fixture has a wide 65° beam angle and features a shorter housing designed for venues with low ceilings or balconies. Inspire Mini provides a choice of beautiful whites, soft pastels and bold saturates — all from one fixture. By incorporating DMX-512 control, the Inspire Mini is able to integrate seamlessly with an existing DMX infrastructure and lighting controller.

ULA Group: (07) 5509 4633 or www.ulagroup.com

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

Outdoor Wireless Power

Clay Paky Performers

PR Lighting’s ARC LED 3216 combines the power of 216 x 3W LEDs split evenly across two individually tiltable heads with a high quality die-caste aluminium IP67 housing, making it well suited to challenging outdoor applications. An on-board wireless DMX receiver means there’s no need to run control cables. It’ll run standalone and in master/slave modes, meaning multiple units can work together without the need for external controllers. There are 16 factory presets and 16 user definable memories.

San Antonio’s new Tobin Center for the Performing Arts opens with a complement of Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 fixtures. Six were selected as “the best fit” for the performance spaces. “We required, quiet, low-maintenance fixtures that offer a variety of design options and would last for many years,” says Technical Director Stefan De Wilde. “The QWO 800s had the smallest footprint, the lightest weight and the least amount of ambient noise. They’re also flexible since they can be used as a wash or a spot fixture.”

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

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

Going with the Wireflow The Wireflow collection by French designer Arik Levy for Vibia is a contemporary reinterpretation of classical luminaires created by using just two elementary components: a thin black rod and LED lamps. According to Levy, Wireflow is at once ‘presence and absence’, ‘transparency and luminosity’, ‘light and fluidity’, ‘imbuing the elusive, immaterial essence of light with tangible, architectural qualities’. Well, you be the judge. Koda Lighting: (02) 9699 6007 or kodalighting.com.au

Lule Rules Located in Adelaide, the Zahr Mezze Bar, features a large array of the industrial Lule pendants throughout the restaurant space. These small brass wire pendant lights can be arranged in different positions and clustered together to create an overall larger feature. LED lamps have been used within the rustic cage lights, making them highly energy efficient. Satelight offers the Lule lights in either red, white, black cloth covered or clear electrical flex. Satelight: (03) 9399 5805 or www.satelight.com.au

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Origin Didier Design

Nightlife Music Managed Music, Visuals and Digital advertising solutions For more information call: Phil Brown - National Sales 0404 556 727 phil.brown@nightlife.com.au www.nightlife.com.au

www.origindidier.com.au Platinum Interiors www.platinuminteriors.com.au Quattro Design www.quattrodesign.com.au Ryder Hampton www.ryderhampton.com

DISPLAY

Samsung Electronics Australia Commercial Displays 8 Parkview Drive Homebush Bay NSW 2127 02 9763 9700 it.sales@samsung.com www.samsung.com/au/business

Playcom Customised Entertainment Digital Signage systems background music and music video Street 22, 89 Jones St, Ultimo (02) 8815 6600 info@playcom.com.au www.playcom.com.au Platinum TV www.platinumtv.com.au

The Chillie Group Hostpitality Industry Specialists Hotels – Pubs – Clubs – Gaming – Bars Restaurants – Design Construction (02) 9453 4744 info@thechilliegroup.com.au www.thechilliegroup.com.au

TM DESIGN GROUP PTY LTD DESIGNERS TO THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY Studio 5, 11 Beach Street Port Melbourne, VIC 3207 Ian Macklin (Director) 03 9646 9932 0417 147 110 imacklin@tmdg.com.au www.tmdg.com.au

V Screen Indoor/Outdoor LED Screens (07) 5599 1551 info@jdistribution.net www.jdistribution.net

FABRIC Dickson-Constant www.dickson-constant.com Kvadrat Maharam www.kvadratmaharam.com

Aquavision

Warwick Fabrics

www.aquavisiontv.com.au

www.warwick.com.au

Hitachi www.hitachi.com.au

FINISHES

Innovizion www.innovizion.com.au

Alloy Design

www.arcon-nsw.com.au

Barbara and fellows

JVC proffesional

www.alloydesign.com.au

Crown Commercials

www.barbaraandfellows.com.au

www.jvc-australia.com

Armstrong

www.creationbaumann.com

Bleux

Mitsubishi Electric

www.armstrong-aust.com.au

Gibbon Group

www.bleux.com.au

www.mitsubishielectric.com.au

Axolotl Group

www.gibbongroup.com.au

Dasch Associates

NEC

www.axolotl-group.com

Rohrig

www.daschassociates.com

www.nec.com.au

Bravo print

www.rohrig.com.au

D4 Residential & Commercial Design

Panasonic

www.bravoprint.com.au

Isis

www.d4designs.com.au

www.panasonic.com.au

Caesarstone

www.isis.com.au

DBI Design

Philips

www.caesarstone.com.au

James Clifford Construction

www.dbidesign.com.au

www.avico.com.au

Casf

www.jamesclifford.com.au

Dreamtime

Samsung

www.casf.com.au

Liquid Lines

www.dreamtimeaustraliadesign.com

www.samsung.com.au

Design Room Australia

www.liquidlines.com.au

Edge Commercial Interiors

Sony

Digiglass

Paynter Dixon

www.edgecommercialinteriors.com.au

www.sony.com.au

www.digiglass.com.au

www.paynterdixon.com.au

Innersphere

Wilson Gilkes

Dulux

Premier Club Constructions

www.innersphere.com.au

www.gilkon.com.au

www.dulux.com.au

www.premierbuild.com.au

Inset Group

Viewsonic Australia

Hot Metal

Premier Building Group

www.insetgroup.com.au

www.viewsonic.com

www.hotmetal.biz

www.premierclub.com.au

Joshua Bacon Design

Quality Project Management

www.joshuabacon.com.au

www.qpmgt.com.au

Lime Design Interiors

Instyle Contract Textiles

Reed Constructions Australia

www.limedesigninteriors.com.au

www.instyle.com.au

www.reedgroup.com.au

Merrill Design Australia

Interior Art Image

www.merrilldesign.com.au

www.interiorartimage.com

Arcon

Hunter Douglas Architectural Products

ENTERTAINMENT

www.hunterdouglascommercial.com.au

PREFERRED SUPPLIERS Interior Decorative Coatings

www.asf.com.au

Capital Design Works

www.idccolourfield.com

Amber Tiles

www.capitaldesignworks.com.au

Laminex

www.ambertiles.com.au

Cubus

www.laminex.com.au

Ardex

www.cubusconcepts.com.au

Liquid Metal Technologies

www.ardexaustralia.com.au

Chairbiz

www.liqmet.com

Boral Timbers

Llias

www.boral.com.au

www.ilias.com.au

Brintons Pty Limited

Marblo

www.brintons.net/commercial

www.marblo.com

Classic Floorcoverings

Pet Shop Studio International

www.classicfloorcoverings.com.au

www.petshopstudio.com.au

Dalsouople Australasia

Porterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paints

www.dalsouple.com.au

www.porterspaints.com.au

DĂŠcor Stone

FLOORING

www.chairbiz.com.au

Contempo Furniture Pty Ltd Design and Manufacturing of Commercial Furniture and Lighting, specialising in unique metal finishes; Metal Spinners and Sheet Metal Fabricators (02) 9726 6794 www.contempofurniture.com.au

Comax www.comaxaustralia.com.au Corporate Culture www.corporateculture.com.au Corporate Express www.ce.com.au CF Design www.cfdesign.com.au

www.decorpebble.com.au

Echelon

Designer Rugs

www.echelonproducts.com

www.designerrugs.com.au

Evostyle

DTAC

www.evostyle.com.au

www.dtac.com.au

Finest international, local and custom-made tiles for the commercial, hospitality & corporate market. 182-186 Parramatta Road, Camperdown NSW 2050 (02) 9550 5204 www.belmondotiles.com.au

Eco Flooring Systems

Eurofurn

www.ecoflooring.com.au

www.eurofurn.com.au

www.ecotilefactory.com.au Forbo www.forbo-flooring.com.au Godfrey Hirst www.godgfreyhirst.com Gunnersen Inspirations www.gunnersens.com.au InterfaceFLOR

Cavalier Bremworth Pure NZ wool carpet More than 30 carpet styles 1800 251 172 mrobinson@cavbrem.com.au www.cavbrem.com.au

www.furnitureoptions.com.au Gadget King www.gadgetking.com.au Globe West

www.greatdanefurniture.com

Living Tiles

Hospitality Furniture Concepts www.hospitalityfurniture.net.au

www.livingtiles.com.au National Tiles www.nationaltiles.com.au Polyflor Australia www.polyflor.com.au

www.stoneartaust.com.au

Prototype Commercial Furniture Manufacture, Tailor and Supply Commercial Furniture 31 Paringa Road Murarrie QLD 4217 1 The Crescent, Kingsgrove NSW 2208 1300 799 376 info@prototype.net.au www.prototype.net.au

Hughes Commercial Furniture www.hughescf.com.au Iken www.iken.com.au Interstudio www.interstudio.com.au Insitu Furniture www.insitufurniture.com.au James Richardson www.jamesrichardson.com.au

Tascot Carpets

Jardan Australia

www.tascot.com.au

www.jardan.com.au

The Andrews Group

JMH Hospitality Furniture

www.theandrewsgroup.com.au

www.hospitalityfurniture.com.au Matt Blatt

The Rug Collection www.therugcollection.com.au Tsar Carpets and Rugs www.tsar.com.au Casino Consoles Australia www.casinoconsoles.com.au Whitecliffe Imports www.whitecliffe.com.au

Furniture Options

Great Dane Furniture

StoneArt

Altro Flooring

www.fourtwo.com.au

www.karndean.com

www.rockson.com.au

www.academytiles.com.au

Four Two

www.globewest.com.au

Rocks On

Academy Tiles

www.form-function.com.au

Karndean International

www.rmsmarble.com

Tappeti Level 2, 13 - 15 Levey Street Chippendale 2008 T: (02) 9698 2735 F: (02) 9698 2788 designstudio@tappeti.com.au www.tappeti.com.au

Instyle Seating High Quality, Functional, Affordable Furniture for Hospitality, Commercial and Corporate. Australia Wide Delivery. 1300 309 889 info@instyleseating.com.au www.instyleseating.com.au

www.interfaceaus.com.au

Rms Natural Stone

Gibbon Group Innovative, sustainable and high-quality interior finishes (07) 3881 1777 sales@gibbongroup.com.au www.gibbongroup.com.au

Form and Function

Eco Tile Factory

The Seatery Custom Upholstery Specialist Factory 3, 24 Longstaff Road Bayswater Vic 3153 (03) 9720 0042 enquiries@theseatery.com.au www.theseatery.com.au

FURNITURE

FURNITURE B Seated Australia Leading Supplier & Manufacturer of Commercial Furniture. 7/22 Mavis St , Revesby, NSW 2212 1300 727 637 www.bseatedglobal.com.au

www.mattblatt.com.au Nufurn www.nufurn.com.au PGR Furniture www.pgrfurniture.com.au Pomp Furniture www.pomp.com.au Robert Plumb

Aero Design

www.robertplumb.com.au

www.aerodesigns.com.au

Ross Didier www.origindidier.com.au

Blok Furniture

Schiavello www.schiavello.com

www.blokfurniture.com.au

Sebel www.sebelfurniture.com

BINDI Furn

Space www.spacefurniture.com.au

www.bindifurniture.com.au

Stylecraft www.stylecraft.com.au

Botton & Gardiner

Tait www.tait.biz

www.bottongardiner.com.au

Zenith Interiors

Cafe Culture

www.zenithinteriors.com.au

www.cafeculture.com.au

HEATING

INTERIORS

Haron Robson www.haronrobson.com.au Illumanon www.illumanon.com Innermost www.innermost.com.au Illumination Physics www.illuminationphysics.com

Bromic Heating Head Office: 1 Suttor Street, Silverwater, Sydney NSW 2128 1300 276 642 F: (02) 9748 4289 www.bromic.com.au

LSC

Di Emme Creative Solutions Chiaro Screens - MetaFinish MetaFlex - Stonini Unit 3, 87-89 Moore Street Leichhardt NSW 2040 (02) 9550 0811 www.diemme.com.au

www.lsclighting.com LSW www.lsw.com.au Mance Design www.mance.com.au Mayfield Lamps www.mayfieldlamps.com.au Mega Vision www.megavision.com.au Optique www.optique.com.au Optic Fibre Lighting www.opticfiberlighting.com.au

Climate Australia Specialists in Outdoor Temperature Solutions Unit 6, Enterprise Industrial Estate 8 Tilley Lane Frenchs Forest NSW 2086 (02) 9977 3474 or 0414 48 5555 www.climateaustralia.com.au

Crown Doors International www.

Osram www.osram.com.au

crowndoors.com.au

Passive Lighting

Ke-Zu www.kezu.com.au

www.passivelighting.com.au

Silent GlIss www.silentgliss.com.au

PointOfView www.pov.com.au

Smartstone www.smartstone.com.au

Pulse Show Lighting

Somfy www.somfy.com.au

www.pulse-ent.com.au

Tint Design www.tintdesign.com.au

Satelight www.satelight.com.au

Woven Image www.wovenimage.com.au

Show Technology:

Woven Wall www.wovinwall.com

www.showtech.com.au

Viridian Glass www.viridianglass.com

Studio Italia www.studioitalia.com.au Tenrod www.tenrod.com.au

LIGHTING

Yellow Goat www.yellowgoat.com.au Xenian www.xenian.com.au WhiteLite www.whitelite.com.a ULA www.ula.com.au

Thermofilm Australia Pty Ltd 27 Rosalie Street, Springvale VIC 3171 T: (03) 9562 3455 F: (03) 9548 3979 sales@thermofilm.com.au www.thermofilm.com.au

Jands Pty Ltd Vari*lite - ETC 40 Kent Road, Mascot NSW 2020 (02) 9582 0909

OUTDOOR LouvreSpan www.louvrespan.com.au Skyspan Umbrellas www.skyspan-umbrellas.com

www.jands.com.au

Supershades www.supershades.com.au Vergola

Alfresco Spaces

J Lighting Architectural/LED/ Stage Lighting (07) 5599 1551 info@jdistribution.net

www.alfrescospaces.com.au Celmec International www.celmec.com.au Devex Systems www.devexsystems.com.au

www.vergolansw.com.au

POINT OF SALE Fedeltapos www.fedeltapos.com

EcoSmart Fire

Impos www.impos.com.au

www.ecosmartfire.com

Micros Systems www.micros.com

Everdure www.everdure.com

Omnipos www.omnipos.com.au

www.jdistribution.net

Gasmate www.gasmate.com.au

Redcat www.redcat.com.au

Jetmaster www.jetmaster.com.au Keverton www.kevertonoutdoor.com.au Pure Heat www.pureheat.com.au Realflame www.realflame.com.au Solamagic Australia www.solamagic-australia.com.au

FABRICATION

NPA Specialised Lighting Components Wholesale supplier of lighting components, specialising in custom neon, cold cathode systems, LED general lighting and architectural LED systems. (07) 5597 2554 sales@npalighting.com www.npalighting.com

SECURITY EOS www.eos.com.au Nightkey www.metropolisfremantle.com.au OPOC www.opoc.com.au

SIGNAGE Albert Smith Group www.asggroup.com.au

OX Engineering Group Pty Ltd Specialists in architectural metalwork,displays,metal fabrication and Signage 23 Britton St Smithfield NSW 2164 (02) 9616 7444 www.overexposure.com.au

Balanced Technology

Face Visual Marketing Group

www.balancedtech.com.au

www.facevmg.com.au

Display Design

Fen Systems Australia

www.displaydesign.com.au

www.fensystems.com.au

ECC

Fremont Design

www.ecclightingandliving.com

www.fremontdesign.com.au

Element Labs www.elementlabs.com

Sachr Sign Strategy

Euroluce www.euroluce.com.au

www.sachr.com.au

The Jane Belgium

Michelin-star chef Sergio Herman and chef Nick Bril created their ‘fine dining meets rock ’n roll’ restaurant vision together with architects Piet Boon over three years ago in a chapel of a former military hospital. Piet Boon Studio, responsible for the interior design and styling of The Jane, since then collaborated on the chapel’s transformation into the high-end, contemporary restaurant with international allure you see pictured here. Piet Boon has kept the original ceiling but the original altar had to make way for the kitchen that’s now surrounded in glass — like a modern day shrine. Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job designed the windows consisting of 500 unique panels. Inspired by the chapel’s

original function, foam spatulas, sunflowers, devils, skulls, babies, Jesus on the cross, dice, apple cores, wrenches, ice cream cones, a canon, croissants, penguins, trophies, gas masks and birthday cakes portray a contemporary translation of the old stained-glass windows. The ‘piece de résistance’ in the centre of the restaurant is a 800kg gigantic chandelier (12m by 9m) with over 150 lights, designed by the Beirut-based design studio .PSLAB. Fancy booking a table for date night? There’s a three-month reservation lead time. The Jane: www.thejaneantwerp.com Piet Boon Group BV: www.pietboon.com

/NightlifeMusicOfficial

@NightlifeMusic

/NightlifeMusicOfficial

@NightlifeMusic