Glenelg’s iconic Buffalo restaurant will be demolished in February

It’s the end for one of Glenelg’s best-known icons — the former Buffalo restaurant will be demolished next month, despite its owner’s plans for a $1 million redevelopment.

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The well-known former Buffalo restaurant at Glenelg will be demolished next month because it is in a state of disrepair.

Holdfast Bay Council today confirmed it had approved an application to raze the Glenelg icon on the banks of the Patawalonga River.

The replica HMS Buffalo — which last operated as a restaurant in 2013 — was slated for a $1 million redevelopment after plans were approved in 2017.

A statement from Holdfast Bay said the project would not go ahead due to the costs involved and the condition of the structure.

The Buffalo on the Patawalonga in Glenelg. Picture: Simon Cross

“(The) council accepts that the passage of time has taken its toll and that this is now the only practical outcome for the dilapidated replica,” the statement read.

“(The) council will now consider the best ongoing utilisation of this open community space in the coming months.”

The Buffalo was originally set for demolition in 2014, before Troy DeYoung bought it from Richard Finlayson for just $1.

Mr DeYoung declined to comment because of “legal issues”.

Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson said it was time for the boat to “make way for something the community can use”.

“It was a novelty when it opened but now there’s so much competition … and it just couldn’t compete against that even if it tried to open.”

She believed it would be idea to be used as open space but the council would conduct community consultation.

The upgrade of the Buffalo was to involve a redevelopment of the inside and outside of the restaurant, including an outdoor bar and alfresco dining area, as well as a kiosk and deck.

The original HMS Buffalo brought the first settlers to Glenelg in 1836 but was destroyed in a shipwreck four years later.

Mr DeYoung was leasing the land on which the boat stood from the council.

The destruction of the boat is expected to begin in February and be completed by mid April.

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