PALMY PROVES HUNKY DORY
Popular Melbourne fish ’n’ chip restaurant chain dives in to southeast Queensland, with its first store to open in the revamped Pavilions Palm Beach project
A POPULAR Melbourne fish ’n’ chip restaurant chain has chosen Palm Beach as the location for its first venture outside of the culture capital.
Hunky Dory, which operates nine eateries in Melbourne, will open in July next year at the revamped Pavilions Palm Beach project.
Brisbane-based Consolidated Properties Group and Melbournebased CVS Lane Capital Partners have partnered on the expansion of the retail centre.
The refurbishment involves splitting the existing Coles into a number of smaller tenancies and opening a new “full line” Coles store and additional shops.
Hunky Dory’s Tory Trewhitt has relocated to Byron Bay from Melbourne to spearhead the launch of the brand into the southeast Queensland market.
“My aim is to open between three and five stores in Queensland,” he said. “Our plan is to get involved in the community and sponsor local sporting teams.
“We want that loyalty from locals, we’re not after the tourist dollar.”
He said Palm Beach was chosen as it is going through a “growth spurt” and there were similarities between the suburb and Port Melbourne.
“We want to replicate what we do in Port here in southeast Queensland,” he said.
“There are opportunities as Palm Beach is still growing.”
Hunky Dory has signed a sevenyear lease with a seven-year option for 137sq m at the southeast corner of the Pavilions site on the corner of Fourth Ave and Gold Coast Highway.
The fit-out will include bi-fold doors to open the restaurant up to an outdoor seating area.
Mr Trewhitt said sales at the Melbourne outlets were 70 per cent dine in and 30 per cent takeaway.
“Maybe this one will be half and half, we’re not sure yet.”
Hunky Dory, which offers grilled and deep-fried seafood, as well as burgers, wraps and “super salads”, was founded in 2004 by Greg Robotis.
Rudi Scutti and Cody Buck, of CBRE, are the leasing agents for Pavilions. Leasing rates at Pavilions, which counts Liquorland, LJ Hooker, and Newsventure among its tenants, range between $600/sq m and $950/ sq m gross.