Smorgies in Geelong closing down

from w
In the Addie this week was a news item that the popular Smorgies Restaurant on Cunningham Pier is closing down this weekend for an upgrade to a large upmarket place whick no doubt will be more expensive and no longer kid-friendly. It will nsurely not be the kind of place for families and kids nor for those who want to eat as much as they can for their $18 or so. The entertainment area with King Neptune and a singing seal with sound and light ended some time ago anyway. The food was great for Pacific Islander rugby teams as it was plate after plate after plate. We used to go there sometimes when friends came down to Geelong. Some people though reckoned the food wasn't high class and the pier looked like Coney Island. Okay, it has a wonderful view of Corio Bay and also the wide array of food suited people who could pick and choose - roasts, salads, Chinese, and so on.
----
from Geelong Advertiser:
Pier into the future
Kyle Pollard
April 7th, 2010 BOLD VISION: Business partners Cameron Ling and Darren Holroyd outside their new project the former Smorgy's site on Geelong's waterfront. Photo: BRAD WILSON
CUNNINGHAM Pier's iconic Smorgy's restaurant will close its doors for good next week as it undergoes a high-class facelift. In a joint redevelopment between Geelong hotelier Darren Holroyd and Geelong Edge partners, Dominic Tripoli and Geelong Cats captain Cameron Ling, the restaurant will be transformed into a hospitality hub.

The precinct will include an event space that will accommodate up to 800 people, a fine-dining restaurant, a boutique bar and a private meeting room and cafe.

Mr Holroyd said the event space, to be known as The Pier Geelong, will be the official entertainment venue for the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in October this year. It means we will have a really tight time frame to get things done," Mr Holroyd said.

What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us using the feedback form below

"Hopefully, we will open in September just before the championships start."

The restaurant, bar and cafe will all have different names, which have yet to be decided. Ling said the entire redevelopment would focus on making the venue a classy option for Geelong diners. "The emphasis is on quality, with a quality experience, quality food and a quality setting," he said. "There's not too many other places in the world like Cunningham Pier and we want it to be a Geelong landmark."

Renowned chef Matt Dempsey will be executive chef of the restaurant, after winning the 2009 Appetite for Excellence Young Chef of the Year Award.

Mr Holroyd said he was excited to have the opportunity to develop the landmark. "It really is a beacon of Geelong," Mr Holroyd said."To have a north-facing pier with 360 degree views is a great opportunity for us."

Smorgy's was first opened in the early 90s as an all-you-can-eat buffet with an underwater theme.

Concept plans for the interior of the new development are expected to be released within the next two months.

Latest Comments:
What would be good is a "penny arcade" type entertainment for families. There is enough restaurants and bars for the big kids, there is a skate park for the in-between kids, and a merry-go-round for little kids. Something that is family orientated is what's needed.

Posted by: Fun times of Geelong 5:21pm Thursday
.Sorry guys but we do not need this.The other was catering to what was wanted in terms of cost.Too many restaurants in Geelong anyway.Many fo them are too expensive.I think it will fail.

Posted by: David of Carlton 3:30pm Thursday
.I posted comments on an earlier news article, and i STILL think the idea Sux.Smorgys was great. If Lingey was really Geelong orientated he would see the pier should be meant for the PUBLIC.Cameron, Did You ever go fishing there with friends or family?Obviously not or this would not be happening.Go Cats, Go Smorgys, Boo Geelong

Posted by: Stuart C Johnson of Geelong 9:58pm Wednesday
.I thought the pier was a place for the general public, a place for the people of Geelong, not a place for the wealthy only. This should never be allowed. C of GG, you are a disgrace to the people who pay your salary.

Posted by: U R Selfish of Geelong 4:13pm Wednesday
.will there be adequate facilities to accomodate families and prices to suit ?

Smorgies and Skatepark

from w
From the photos I took on Saturday evening when we went down to the Geelong waterfront to see the presentation by Youth with a Mission which included some Fijian young people (see babasiga blog), I've experimented with the colours, composition by cropping, and altering. Maybe they are the kind of pics that suit newspaper or magazine stories, but not artwork. Anyway, gets me outa housework! I'm busy though at present editing a manuscript for a friend, sorting books at Donation in Kind and as usual eating with friends and strangers and we call this 'kana' ministry, 'kana' meaning 'food'. Just conversation one to one or in small groups. I really don't do well in large crowds especially trying to talk when it's noisy.

Click on any picture to see enlarged.

Smorgies and Cunningham Pier

from w
We go occasionally to Smorgies - eat all that you can - and that's a treat for Pacific Islanders. In fact one rugby team was banned in a Hong Kong restaurant after they cleared out ALL of the food trays at an 'all that you can eat'. Anyway the other day we went with some of our guests to Smorgies and the price was put up by $5 because it was a public holiday to $22. However this is a popular place for families because they used to have a sound and light show with Neptune and a singing seal - though they've gone now. The idea now is to change it all, pull it down and remodel the place as a bit more upmarket. Pity, it's okay for families as it is. Coney Island sort of decor on the pier though. The Geelong Advertiser says this:

Pier gets $4m boost
Danny Lannen
December 29th, 2009

$4M UPGRADE of Geelong's Smorgy's waterfront restaurant will include a makeover of its Cunningham Pier facade and walkway. New operators are determined to emphasise the restaurant's fresh direction and enhance other Geelong waterfront developments.
"It just has to have a whole image change out there, people have to drive past and know it's a totally new venue," partner Darren Holroyd said. "That would be difficult to do with the current facade because that would remind you of what's already there."

Hotelier Mr Holroyd bought the Smorgy's lease in October with Geelong Edge bar partners Dominic Tripodi and Geelong Football Club midfielder Cameron Ling. They announced plans to gut and transform the two-storey building in less than a year, creating a stylish, high-quality hospitality hub. Mr Holroyd said design plans were still being finalised, with a focus on capitalising on the building's size and outlook. "They'll be the best views in town, whatever we do," Mr Holroyd said. "There will be a restaurant, there will be a function, convention, reception centre, it will be multi-purpose and I would assume there will be a nice bar with new decks and things. It's very under-utilised, I think everyone in Geelong drives past and wishes it was something better out there."

The partners plan to close the restaurant at the end of March and hope to have work complete by October 2010. Mr Holroyd said the restaurant remained open with new chef Carmel Alvaro from Lamby's Restaurant but patronage had dipped up to 25 per cent since news of the renovation plans.

"Everyone thinks it started as soon as it was announced," Mr Holroyd said. "So coming into a time of year when it should have been growing it's dropped off a bit.
The funny part is the food is probably better than it's ever been."

Cunningham Pier will become a focus for family fun on Thursday night with rides, roving entertainment and attractions becoming part of New Year's Eve on the Waterfront etc.These sketches were done some time ago.

A birthday on the 21st

from Peceli,
Last Saturday night, Wendy and a friend, Carol,and I went to Smorgies Restaurant for my birthday. It's a popular family restaurant at the end of Cunningham Pier in Geelong, very noisy but with lots of varieties of food. Eat as much as you like. After that we came home to drink kava.