Bunbury's Vat 2 restaurant was first for beach dining, not Fremantle

A RECENT newspaper article praising a Fremantle restaurant for being the first in WA to serve a meal with wine on a beach seems to have forgotten about Bunbury.

Bunbury's Vat 2 restaurant introduced dining on the beach to Bunbury back in 2006.

The article in the West Australian, written by restaurant critic Rob Broadfield, said diners at Salt On The Beach in North Fremantle were making history and applauded the City of Fremantle for their role in the approvals process.

But City of Bunbury Mayor Gary Brennan confirmed the Vat 2 restaurant had applied for a lease to use its beach for summer dining in 2005. 

Council issued a lease in January 2006 and the lease ended in 2009. 

The restaurant still uses the beach for one-off events like New Year’s Eve and private functions. 

With Bunbury’s coastal areas becoming increasingly popular, Mayor Brennan said there needed to be a balance between public open space and community use versus hospitality and tourism ventures.

“Street trading licences, leases and permits have been issued to various operators on the beach, waterfront and park areas for canoe and boat hire, stand-up paddle boarding, surf lessons, bike hire, hand gliding, boot camps, personal training groups and more recently the proposed water park at Koombana Beach,” he said.

Source : The Bunbury Mail   November 19th 2014