Mojo renovation
by Leon Gettler
The famous Mojo food and wine bar in Waterloo in Sydney is being renovated.
Celebrity chef Luke Mangan plans to shake the place up and rejuvenate it.
Reports around the traps have the venue in the final stages of planning approval for a serious revamp.
Mangan has already engaged architects and builders to do the job.
It’s been a while coming – Mojo was opened in 2013.
The big question is how long the renovations are planned for. There is no information on that.
For that matter, no one knows if the 26-seat restaurant will cease trading while the renovations are under way. That’s a blow for anyone looking to spend some time enjoying some terrific tapas and wine.
Mangan, who is also a consultant to Richard Branson’s Virgin group, is telling the media nothing.
Mangan, who started his apprenticeship at Melbourne's Two Faces restaurant in South Yarra, and was appointed head chef at Sydney's CBD when he was just 24 years old, and who was since cooked for royalty, including Prince Charles and Princess Mary, as well as A-list Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise and Samuel L Jackson, is no stranger to renovations.
He has this year been involved in the renovations at the Sydney International Airport departures area. The area’s Duty Free Retail offering has been completely overhauled thanks to International retailer Heinemann which teamed up with Mangan and the Trippas Group which operates outlets around Australia, including the 360 Bar and Dining in Sydney Tower and the Botanic Gardens Restaurant.
About 10 years ago, his glass brasserie at the Sydney Hilton hotel went through a massive renovation creating a sense of space and style. Features included a gigantic wine rack which stretched three floors straight up with row upon row of bottles.
Mangan has also been involved in renovations at venues in Indonesia, Japan and Singapore.
8th March 2016
