Fine & Fettle saddles up for Melbourne Cup
AHEAD of this year’s race that stops a nation, SA food entrepreneur and chef Sam Worrall Thompson is urging patrons to support more local businesses, including his Stepney restaurant.
AHEAD of this year’s race that stops a nation, SA food entrepreneur and chef Sam Worrall Thompson is urging patrons to support more local businesses, including his Stepney restaurant.
Mr Worrall Thompson’s Magill Road Fine & Fettle restaurant is hosting an inaugural Melbourne Cup celebration on November 6.
“Majority of the punters will go to the same venues and support the same businesses or events year after year. We know businesses locally are struggling, so if you know someone is doing something different, please support them.
“It’s tough times for hospitality in Adelaide. There are some great venues but not enough customers,” he said.
Last month popular Red Door Bakery closed its doors at Croydon with debts of about $200,000, with the owners blaming roadworks related to the Torrens to Torrens project for its demise.
Red Door Bakery had operated on Elizabeth St in Croydon for almost nine years, with its owners, Gareth and Emma Grierson, also owning a pizza shop next door, Croydon Social. Goodwood baker and patisserie Boulangerie 113 shut its doors around the same time due to a direct impact of its wholesale customers closing and defaulting on payments.
Mr Worrall Thompson, who also owns a fitness business 6W2S and the Kitchen & Catering business, said he hoped the next two to three years would help build Fine & Fettle’s future as nearby proposed housing developments increased patronage.
“We are trying different things through catering and events. There is also a plan to start night trading from February next year,” he said.
The Melbourne Cup event itself will support other local SA businesses like winemaker The Pawn Co.
“It’ll be a step above the usual Melbourne Cup fanfare that Adelaide is used to”.
“It’s not your standard pub event, not your stuffy fine dining and not necessarily anything in between. It’s a new take on tradition and we’re going to have fun with it!”
Social worker Trent Wingard and his partner, Adelaide social media fashion influencer Sabrina Furlan, are ambassadors for the event.