COASTAL COOL
The hip revival on NSW’s Central Coast
WHEN A REAL ESTATE agent warns that you’ll be committing business suicide by opening up a cafe in a forgotten town, you’d reconsider your decision, right? Not Ana Koutoulas who, along with her partner Ben Wright, went with her instinct and opened The Glass Onion Society in 2011 (theglassonionsociety.com). At the time, the town, Long Jetty, was an uninspiring concrete jungle; around 20,000 cars would drive through on a daily basis, but no one stopped because there was nothing to see. “It really was a ghost town,” Ana admits, “but we saw potential.” She had a dream to get the town up and running again. “Having grown up on the Coast, all of our friends were moving away for their creative endeavours. There was never going to be anything cool if everyone kept leaving, so we wanted to create something people would stick around for.” The retro cafe would double as a creative space with live music and art exhibitions, and – as fate would have it – almost eight years after the eclectic cafe opened, Long Jetty is dubbed ‘the Newtown of the Central Coast’. It’s now home to a number of unique vintage stores, a smattering of fashion and homewares boutiques, a yoga studio-cumorganic food cafe, and some Insta-worthy street art – with beaches, a lake and a historic jetty, to boot. Long Jetty wasn’t the only Coast town that had fallen victim to neglect. Comedian Spike Milligan, whose parents retired here in the 1950s, publicly and infamously referred to Woy Woy as “the world’s only above-ground cemetery”. Ouch. It was a spectacular fall from grace considering decades earlier, in 1936, a black-and white tourism film about Woy Woy declared the town ‘The Venice of Australia’ and portrayed it as a paradise for leisure seekers. The Coast’s once thriving central hub, Gosford, also fell on exceptionally hard times – what was once the region’s epicentre of
shopping and leisure, with department stores, parks and gardens, a rollerskating rink and a twin cinema, was essentially deserted after the huge Erina Fair shopping centre opened just kilometres away in the late ’80s. Much that was great about Gosford eventually disappeared, and many other once-thriving hubs followed a similar fate. A large part of the Coast sat dormant, uninspired and overlooked. But fast-forward to 2019 and positive change is happening. While advertising tycoon and property developer John Singleton has set out to “revitalise Gosford” with a $35-million residential high-rise complete with dining and commercial offerings, it’s the smaller guys making waves around the Coast. Further south, Rupert Noffs and Matty Bennett recently moved to Woy Woy from New York City and opened up the Lucky Bee. Located on Frankie’s Rooftop (frankiesrooftop.com.au) at the Bayview Hotel, which underwent a huge multi-million-dollar renovation in 2016, the Southeast Asian restaurant and bar is a reincarnation of their lauded Manhattan restaurant. With a kitsch tiki Thai theme, you could feel like you’re at a bright, neon restaurant in the heart of Bangkok, if it weren’t for the glistening, languid waterway opposite, frequented by pelicans and fishermen. “People wonder if we have culture shock after coming from New York to Woy Woy… the answer is no,” Rupert says. “The beaches here are the best in the world; the sense of community is endearing; we are surrounded by national parks and mountains,” he offers. “I want people to stop asking me ‘Why Woy Woy?’ – I say, why not!” Of course, the Coast’s timeless appeal is its natural beauty and unhurried lifestyle. With 40 beautiful beaches along its 80-kilometre coastline – including calm bays, rock pools and excellent surf breaks – sand between your toes and salt in your hair is habitual. Life is slow, simple and relaxed. “Here is a place you can live where every day feels like a holiday,” says Dan Hughes, owner of Mr Goaty Gelato (mrgoatygelato.com.au). “Our desire for a slower pace and better lifestyle brought us to the Coast [from Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs] and we have not been disappointed.” Based at Distillery Botanica in Erina (celebrated for its botanical spirits; distillerybotanica.com), he makes his awardwinning goats’ milk gelato using fresh herbs and flowers from the distillery’s gardens, as well as sourcing fresh fruit from Mangrove Mountain and local markets. The sweet
treat is currently sold at Avoca Beachside Markets and Newcastle’s Olive Tree Market, plus at pop-up stalls, festivals and events around the Coast. From February, it’ll also be available at the distillery’s new on-site bar and cafe, Bar Botanica. “It’s a really exciting time to be on the Coast,” Dan says. “The food scene is really growing and it is becoming a food destination. We are stoked to be a part of that.” Passionate locals taking a chance on business can completely bring a community back to life. Indeed, the quirky little establishment in a former crystal shop in Long Jetty kick-started this particular town’s revival, but more significantly it has had a flow-on effect around the Central Coast. Locals are staying put, seachangers are flocking here, and visitors are rediscovering a region that is finally getting its cool back.