Three Blue Ducks causes controversy with new Coffs Coast restaurant

The site for the new Three Blue Ducks restaurant is at the centre of a landlord legal battle.

Celebrity chefs Darren Robertson and Andy Allen were set to take over the picturesque The Lodge on Waterfall Way restaurant site on the Coffs Coast.

Up until 18 months ago the Lodge hosted Hilltop Bellingen, a popular dining destination in the area.

However, Hilltop’s owners and workers claim they were “locked out” of the venue, a claim The Lodge denies.

Hilltop was opened by husband-and-wife team Carla Jones and Richie Dolan after building a strong following at Sawtell on the Coffs Coast.

They did the same with Hilltop.

“That restaurant is the home of Hilltop at The Lodge – my restaurant,” Jones said on Facebook.

Jones claims the Hilltop team worked tirelessly to restore what was called the “Bellingen Valley Lodge” to its current state.

“We invested our own savings in the development of its restaurant and did a damn good job,” she said.

The lockout has caused the owners a financial and emotional hardship.

“All of our belongings and investment still lies within its walls,” she said.

“It’s a good old kick in the d--k when some of your old colleagues and a business you once held in such high regard moves into it while you’re still fighting for it.”

Jones said she was “sickened” by the Three Blue Duck announcement.

Coffs residents have expressed their anger on social media, but one of the Three Blue Ducks chefs has said the legal stoush is “none of our business”, however Three Blue Ducks has reached out to the Hilltop owners and were “genuinely concerned about the situation we are in”.

“We are now working together to find the best resolution for both of us,” Jones said.

A spokesperson The Lodge stated: “During the past week, The Lodge Bellingen and the new restaurant operator have been the target of false and misleading comments by a few ill-informed people on social media.

“The landlord dispute was none of our business – but we did request it was solved,” Robertson said.

Robertson said he understood the backlash.

“Whenever a business from a city moves to regional towns there’s an air of apprehension,” he said.

“We want to be part of the Bellingen fabric – not change the place.”

Three Blue Ducks is now trying to do everything possible to influence a speedy and positive outcome.

Jonathan Jackson - 23-2-23