‘Give us a go’: New owners out to rebuild reputation of embattled Murray Bridge restaurant

New owners of an iconic but embattled Murray Bridge restaurant are working overtime to restore its reputation after the old owners left it in an unsanitary condition.

The Oriental Garden Chinese Restaurant at Murray Bridge, has changed hands after the previous owners had to close due to poor hygiene and cleanliness in the restaurant and kitchen. They weren’t truthful when selling to the new owners, Brendyne Lowe and his partner Janet Zhang, who were kept unaware that there were any problems. 21 October 2022. Picture Dean Martin

New owners of a renowned Murray Bridge restaurant are working hard to restore the reputation of what is a local “institution” after the revelation the business was operating in an unsanitary state.

Oriental Garden Chinese Restaurant’s outgoing owners Xinstar International Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to 10 counts of breaching the food standards code during inspections on April 14 and June 14 this year and on Wednesday were ordered to pay a $14,400 fine.

For the new owners, married couple Brendyne Lowe and Janet Zhang, the news came as a complete shock while they were working hard to renovate the restaurant ahead of its reopening.

Mr Lowe said they were “left in the dark” and had no knowledge of any health code breaches.

“Disappointed would be an understatement,” Mr Lowe said.

“I couldn’t believe it at first, you buy the business, you buy the name … we know it hasn’t been maintained 100 per cent but we were going to change that but there was a lot of negative attention before we even opened the doors.”

The Oriental Garden Chinese Restaurant at Murray Bridge, has changed hands after the previous owners had to close due to poor hygiene and cleanliness in the restaurant and kitchen. They weren’t truthful when selling to the new owners, Brendyne Lowe and his partner Janet Zhang, who were kept unaware that there were any problems. Picture: Dean Martin

He said the couple was immediately in damage control on social media.

“I tried to put some facts out there on Facebook, but bad news just bolts … the timing of it was terrible,” Mr Lowe said.

“We are just about to make it beautiful, new and the place to be.”

Mr Lowe said he wanted to set the record straight and hoped for a fresh start.

“We have no affiliation, no relation, no anything with the previous owners,” he said.

With the pressure on to restore the reputation of the business, the couple decided to delay the planned reopening date.

“What we did is go down to the Murray Bridge council yesterday and we had a meeting with the health inspectors and just discussed with them what problems they had,” Mr Lowe said.

“My wife and I decided to close down for another week completely, until we got everything ticked off by the council, we are fixing everything the council has asked for and a lot more.”

Despite the negative attention, Mr Lowe said he was hopeful the Murray Bridge community would support the new management.

“Australians being Australians, they’ll give us a go … they can come in and make up their own mind,” he said.

And while people have suggested changing the name, Mr Lowe – who has lived in Murray Bridge for 25 years – said the restaurant was an iconic business and evoked nostalgia in the community.

“This place was somewhere where people go for special occasions, for date nights … a lot of friends of mine said they had wedding anniversaries here, and birthdays,” he said.

“It has a good name, it’s an institution; we can’t change the name.”

Murray Bridge's Oriental Garden Licenced Chinese Restaurant. Picture: Supplied