HOSTS WITH THE MOST
NINETEEN at the Star VIP hosts Fabio Scartozzi and Rhegan Bennetts are among the top 20 Gold Coast hospitality movers and shakers. For the full list turn inside.
THEY wield the ultimate influence in Gold Coast hospitality. In Part 2 of our Power 100 series we rank the nightclub and restaurant bosses who rule the city.
20. ALH GROUP
The power player specialising in taverns, with more than 300 venues across Australia, has a significant presence with 20 on the Gold Coast. They include the relaunched Broadbeach Tavern several years ago and a more recently reimagined BeerGarden in Surfers Paradise.
19. MARK WILSON
The general manager of hospitality company PLB Group has a sterling restaurant record on the Tweed. Selling the critically acclaimed Taverna in Kingscliff enabled him to weather the COVID-19 downturn and focus on his collection of eateries and wedding venues.
Mr Wilson, who opened his newest venture Lolita’s Mexican Cantina right as restrictions and borders clamped down, presides over a popular portfolio including Ancora in Tweed Heads and Osteria Casuarina.
18. DAN NORRIS
The Black Hops
CEO, along with founding mates
Eddie Oldfield and Michael “Govs” McGovern, isn’t just in the business of beer – he knows how to fill a taproom.
Thriving venues in Burleigh Heads and Biggera Waters cap off an annual surge of 130 per cent in bottle shop sales.
This year Norris and his partners moved to take on the big boys of the craft beer scene in Brisbane, taking ownership of a 1000-litre facility and 100seat taproom.
17. NICK WOODWARD
Politicians, powerbrokers and Hollywood royalty – they’ve all been through the doors at Rick Shores. Co-owner
Nick Woodward holds the keys to the regularly booked out beachfront bastion, once voted by Delicious as the best restaurant in Queensland.
And he knows the secret to the bug rolls. Woodward hasn’t paused in the past year, spearheading a mid-pandemic pop-up on Tedder Avenue and takeaway Tuk Shop.
16. JIMMY OZTURK
The VIP frontman out front of f Hollywood Showgirls on Orchid Avenue has been a tourist attraction for
Gold Coast bar and nightclub patrons since he arrived four decades ago.
Seemingly ageless, Mr Ozturk keeps himself fit and trim, knows all about who is coming and going up and down Orchid Avenue and always maintains a smile and effervescent greeting which makes anyone who crosses his path feel like they are his best mate.
He’s as much a part of the furniture in his snappy Versace-styled suits as the sign at the beach end of Cavill Avenue.
15. FABIO SCARTOZZI & RHEGAN BENNETTS No one gets up the lift at
Nineteen at the Star on pumping Friday and Saturday nights without bypassing these two VIP hosts on the casino floor entrance. Fabio – who is a Glitter Strip veteran – and Rhegan, a teacher by day, are the perfect hospitality dream team who always make you feel like a VIP and value discretion.
14. CRAIG DUFFY
The eccentric
Elvis Presleyobsessed owner off Hollywood Showgirls five-star strip club – ahem, “nightclub with a difference” – has successfully nurtured his own quirky small, back-alley live music haunt The Tipsy Pig which sits underneath Hollywood. Credit for surviving more than 14 years on the party strip running a strip club with all the issues that must attract.
Never short of a word on issues facing the Glitter Strip – if he had his way he’d pedestrianise Orchid Avenue, light it up with neon like a Christmas tree and bring in a freewheeling 24-7 licensing. Interesting thought.
13. MIKE & VINCE RUSSO
The Russo brothers have been a mainstay of f the Surfers Paradise night scene for more than 30 years with The Avenue. The institution on its prime Orchid Avenue
Cavill Avenue corner site – which they relocated across the road four years ago and revamped to the tune of $3 million – always attracts a pumping crowd with its commitment to live music, comedy, live sports action and more recently wildly successful drag queen entertainment. They continue to stay relevant and feature a great up-market gastropub menu.
12. JAMES, ALEC AND PAUL CARNEY
Three brothers, three well-loved venues. While it’s been a relatively quiet year for comfort-food dealers the Carneys they’ve weathered the COVID-19 storm to continue sharing their Italian heritage through Gemelli Broadbeach, Gemellini Nobbys Beach and Roy’s by Gemelli Sorrento.
11. AUTUMN AND STEVEN ADAMS
The steak restaurant game golden couple who are behind the highl y - r e g a r d e d and long-successful Moo Moo The Wine Bar + Grill brand continue to be Glitter Strip hosts with the most putting on packed out charity lunches at their popular Broadbeach eatery. They most recently held a successful men’s health fundraiser to support LIVIN. After boldly starting Moo Moo down a thenBroadbeach back road 15 years ago, they have parlayed its success into an equally popular second one in Brisbane. Kept their 40-plus staff on the books while closed during the pandemic shutdown, shelling out $150,000 in wages before JobKeeper kicked in. More awards than steak dish options and recently listed as 29th best steak dish in the world by Big 7 Travel rankings.
10. TIM MARTIN
A Glitter Strip fixture who now also has a slice of the action as an invested partner in the thriving Artesian Hospitality stable. The president of the
Surfers Paradise Licensed Venues Association which oversees the bar and restaurant lobby for the visitor hub has been a powerful advocacy voice when it comes to safety, government restrictions and better standards.
Mr Martin also rules the roost as the general manager overseeing popular Artesian Hospitality nightclubs Sin City, The Bedroom and Havana R & B nightclub which became the first night spot in the country to reopen during the pandemic after finding a loophole in Queensland government restrictions.
9. THOMAS PASH
The chief executive of Australia’s hospitality giant Rockpool Dining Group revealed the Glitter Strip was firmly in his sights when he launched the El Camino Cantina brand in Robina in July. “We are fully committed to the Gold Coast,” Mr Pash said.
“We already have a presence here with The Bavarian restaurants at Broadbeach, Coomera and Robina, and the locals have always been good to us.”
8. HALLMARK GROUP
The Irish Heanen brothers have made a major play on the Gold Coast in the past few years, cranking up the volume with new nightclubs Retro’s and Asylum down party strip Orchid Avenue. They also took on the Fiddler’s Green site when it shut and recreated it
Irish pub Finn McCool’s. This year they completely recreated Melba’s nightclub turning it into up-market pub The Cavill Hotel.
7. DANIEL RIDGEWAY
Once the Gold Coast’s most prolific restaurateur,
2020 has slimmed Daniel Ridgeway’s portfolio. While Gotham Bar &
Grill and Rivea suffocated under the blanket of COVID-19 restrictions, there was a new eatery waiting in the wings.
Seafood specialist What a Catch has just opened at Pacific Fair, returning Ridgeway’s restaurant tally to four venues, including Little Truffle Mermaid Beach, BiN 232 at Pacific Fair and BiN 72 at Coolangatta.
The chef, who started in his first professional kitchen at 14 years of age, also presides over an in-demand corporate catering business.
6. URSULA & BEN WATTS
Ben, a carpenter and selftaught baker, and Ursula an interior designer, have injected a triple-shot of energy into the Gold Coast’s cafe culture.
The entrepreneurial pair haven’t looked back since offloading the game-changing Paddock Bakery in 2017 and applying their formula to the equally well-loved Bam Bam Bakehouse at Mermaid Beach, Custard Canteen at Tallebudgera and Cubby Bakehouse at Chinderah. They have a long list of A-list fans, including Hugh Jackman and Margot Robbie, but their efforts to keep as many of their pre-COVID team of 89 in jobs guaranteed goodwill in 2020.
Among the first to adapt to restrictions, they sent their iconic baked goodies out in DIY home packs and turned Custard Canteen into a drivethrough complete with Tiger King themed attendants.
5. BEN MAY
He may be based in Sydney, but the hotelier’s vision for an iconic beachfront building changed the face of Burleigh Heads.
In addition to holding the reins at Gold Coast tourism posterchild Burleigh Pavilion, Ben May teamed up with family members and other stakeholders to buy the McLarens Landing leasehold on South Stradbroke Island earlier this year.
The group paid $825,000 via a $1 holding company for the leases to the purpose-built eco-tourism facility and popular corporate party spot.
4. BILLY AND JACKIE CROSS
The golden couple of f Gold Coast h o s p i t a l i t y paid their dues on the Glitter Strip with Mr Cross the undisputed king of the Surfers Paradise nightclub and bar trade before selling up in the early 2000s.
Since then, along with hanging on for the runaway success of their impressive juggernaut ManPower which now operates in Australia, with a nightly residency at the Exalibur hotel in Las Vegas and tours globally, their Cross Promotions is always busy putting on good-time festival events that put smiles on people’s faces from Schoolies beachfront parties to their wildly successful Falls Festival in Byron Bay.
The pair are partners with Star Gold Coast in the city’s unrivalled rooftop restaurant and bar lounge Nineteen at the Star which has been the place to be for any social occasion and high-profile parties since its launch in March 2018 just in time for the Commonwealth Games.
3. MATT KEEGAN
The Artesian Hospitality managing partner has been busy since his arrival from Sydney four years ago to oversee the Artesian empire in Surfers Paradise.
Not content with just keeping their nightclubs Sin City, The Bedroom and Havana rocking, he dreamt up and ushered through to completion the multi-milliondollar White Rhino Bar + Eats which set a new benchmark in Surfers for what a good-time bar-restaurant targeted at a slightly older demographic could be. About to put a real stake in the ground for the entire city – and country – with the $10 million Cali Beach Club, a gigantic rooftop precinct across 5000 square metres with multiple bars, pools, a giant sandpit for volleyball and sunbaking, outdoor cinema, glass elevator, VIP cabanas. It is being lauded by Mayor Tom Tate and Destination Gold Coast chairman Paul Donovan plus even has Tourism Australia officials excited.
2. PAT GENNARI
The footprint of f the undisputed king of Broadbeach hospitality is not just confined to the tourist-rich beachside Gold
Coast hub.
Along with his Broadbeach stable that includes popular Koi – famed for its Sunday sessions and where the Koi Boys trio kicked off – and nearby Loose Moose bar and neighbouring speakeasy The Roosevelt Lounge, Gennari also has Glass restaurant on the waterfront at Marina Mirage.
Recently took over Rivea beside Koi and promptly turned it into the very Instagrammable Asian fusion hit Maggie Choo with its own spectacular indoor cherry blossom tree.
He’s also dusted off longdesired beach bar and dining plans and council has been positive about the proposal.
1. SCOTT IMLACH
In a year when most restaurant operators were ducking for cover, the pioneering Kiwi hospo king had his eye on expansion.
Mr Imlach, who employs about 140 people on the Gold Coast, has his hands full with Hideaway Kitchen & Bar, The Backyard Cafe, Nightjar and Nightcap, Bine Bar & Dining and Mr Hizolas, but is regularly spotted behind the taps or working the floor.
He paved the way for small bar licences on the Gold Coast and will set a new precedent with this month’s opening of Precinct Brewing, spending $70,000 and 18 months convincing Gold Coast City Council to give the Gold Coast’s first brewpub a crack.
He is rumoured to be involved with the restaurant component of a megabucks Nobby Beach redevelopment.