WINNING OVER HEARTS
Loyal diners blew up when Hellenika shut, but new cook on the block Brodie Millwood has weathered the storm with his Loki venture
FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Gold Coast dining destination Hellenika was never going to be a piece of cake.
After the shock closure of the Nobby Beach Greek bistro in November last year, the team behind Burleigh Heads pizza restaurant Justin Lane Establishment were announced as the new owners and they wasted no time opening a
Mediterranean-inspired venue called Loki. But owner Brodie Millwood said the new direction came with a grilling from the community.
“The first week was pretty insane, to be honest,” he says.
“We just really tried to do our best to honour as many of the Hellenika bookings as we could.
“(But) in that first week, we were having people come to the door and tell me how terrible it was, what I was doing. They were blaming me, people were abusing me on the phone.
“The following of Hellenika is very loyal, and they’re coming in still expecting it to be Hellenika.
“There was pros and cons to it. It was good for us to get people through the door, and we wanted a certain amount of crossover with the old Hellenika clientele.
“It was a really good chance for us to get up and running.”
It is five weeks since the restaurant changed hands and he is feeling positive about Loki’s future.
“The timeline we turned it around in was crazy. We’ve been very reactive for the first five weeks. We’ve been going with the flow and looking forward to settling in and refining.
“It’ll be a little bit of breathing room now. We’re really looking to find our groove.”
With a fresh fit-out building on the framework of the two-storey restaurant, including maintaining a drawcard rooftop area, Millwood is hoping Loki becomes a locals’ hub like Justin Lane.
“The brief was meant to be a pop culture version of the Mediterranean,” he says.
“The name Loki – I wanted something that resonated, that fits into conversation. People can say ‘I’m going to Justin Lane’, or ‘Harry’s’ or ‘Mr Woks’, or ‘Loki’.”