RENTAL BROADSIDE
Landlords told they must stop being ‘greedy’ to save dining hub
A TOP hospitality operator has told Broadbeach landlords to “get real” on rents if the precinct is to stay a thriving dining hub. Pat Gennari (pictured) said he had no gripes about his own landlord but others on Surf Parade needed to stop being “greedy”.
A TOP hospitality operator is serving a rocket up to some “greedy” Broadbeach landlords, urging they “get real” if the precinct is to stay a thriving dining hub.
The Gold Coast’s onetime culinary capital was hit by a spate of venue closures this year after council’s nine-month street upgrade and a flat Commonwealth Games.
Top operator Pat Gennari, whose Gennari Group has Koi, Loose Moose and Roosevelt Lounge bar, said he had no gripes about his landlord but others on Surf Parade needed to stop being greedy: “To have new professional restaurateurs come in, some landlords need to get real on rentals.
“Some landlords are too greedy and don’t understand there are not enough people here to sustain all these restaurants.”
Mr Gennari said he considered $1200 per square metre reasonable but he knew of some trying to charge $1400 to $1500.
His venues were sustainable and doing decent turnover thanks to realistic rents set by a landlord who met the market, he said.
“I still have plenty of faith in Broadbeach — as long as landlords get more lenient,” he said.
He also believes a goahead for beach edge operations — such as a $1.5m pop-up bar and restaurant venue he is presenting to the Gold Coast City Council — will help boost Broadbeach and its visitor appeal.
He called on operators to keep evolving, and said he’d love nothing more than to be joined by others with good reputations.
“I revamp Koi every few years to keep customers excited, and evolve things. You need to keep updating or everyone gets bored.”
LJ Hooker Gold Coast’s Anna Tooma, manager of a lot of Surf Parade properties for landlords, said it wasn’t “just about rents”.
The precinct was still in “high demand” and she was negotiating with multiple operators keen to secure tenancies, she said.
“Reducing rental alone is not going to be the saviour,” she said. “Failing businesses should be looking at their entire operation and addressing poor customer service, ambience, presentation of premises, and quality of food or product rather than blaming their landlord.
“Many struggling businesses have been offering the same product for 10 or more years.
“There is no denying Surf Parade operators have suffered at the hands of the council who despite input from business owners failed to adequately consider the impact the prolonged street upgrades would have.”
But she was getting new inquiries from bar owners, restaurateurs and franchises, she said.
A share-food venue, Alchati, had just signed a fiveyear lease in the Phoenician on Surf Parade while Australia’s first Peddler Cafe was also coming soon doing organic coffee.
Glitter Strip MP JohnPaul Langbroek said Broadbeach would resemble ailing Tedder Avenue a few years ago if landlords didn’t face reality: “Pat Gennari is right on the money.
“Landlords will say we paid a certain amount, we deserve a certain yield but you’ll be empty.”
Broadbeach Alliance CEO Jan McCormick said the place was still a “hotspot” and “pumping” with patron numbers enhanced by conferences and events.
Three-day country music festival Groundwater in two weeks would attract 70,000, she estimated. May’s four-day Blues on Broadbeach had 171,228 through the hub and the hub was booked solid for conventions, she said.