Beachside eateries aim to be postcard perfect
When long-serving Cambridge mayor Simon Withers briefed the architects of City Beach’s stunning new beachside dining precinct, he made it clear what he, and the ratepayers, wanted.
“I told them I wanted a building so stunning, so well designed that it would become a destination in its own right,” he said. “I wanted a building that would spawn a million postcards.”
With the opening on Friday morning of Odyssea, a massive 300-seat restaurant and the first of the complex’s three restaurants to begin trading, the now retired mayor’s eight-year battle to bring the $25 million project to fruition appears to have paid off.
“It is one of the most stunning public buildings in Australia,” Mr Withers said.
With a combined 700 seats coming on to the market at the new precinct, Odyssea owner-operator Fabio Hupfer says the local City Beach catchment is overdue for some larger-scale operators.
“The restaurant sector is challenging at the moment,” he said. “We have too many restaurants in Perth for the population.
“The weaker restaurants will fail, but this will ensure customers get ever improving restaurants at good prices.
“To be successful in this market you have to be better than your competitors.”
Mr Hupfer says Perth people love dining on the beach and the new City Beach complex will serve pent-up demand for good food and drinks in a beach setting.
‘It’s not just about views though. People want real food, food which is tasty, no foams, no gels. just decent food,” he said.
The other restaurants at the complex — a large bistro-style offering called The Hamptons and an as yet unnamed pizza restaurant — are expected to open over the next few weeks.
A third of the construction budget was spent on a new, state-of-the-art City Beach surf club and the retention of public spaces including the original grassed amphitheatre with point-blank views of the Indian Ocean.
Odyssea will be open seven days for breakfast lunch and dinner.
Source: Yahoo News 7, Rob Broadfield, 20th January 2016
