Rocky’s Pizza changes hands and menu gets an update

There’s been a change of manager at a popular Tennant Creek eatery and a change of direction. Read what’s happened.

Kiran Madani shows off a famous Rocky's Pizza

It takes patience and cunning to slay a monster - which is why Tennant Creek pizza shop owner Kiran Madani is weighing up his options.

The new manager at old Rocky’s Pizza, Kiran is considering the future of the store’s trademark ‘Monster’ pizza - although a final decision is still to be made.

Popular with family visitors passing through the town, Kiran said he was contemplating ditching the two-foot diameter Monster pizza, and focusing on the more manageable 18-inch diameter Party pizza.

“I haven’t made my mind up yet,” Kiran told NT News.

“It might go, or it might not, but I think the Party pizza is more manageable than the Monster.”

Kiran said is now focused on bringing his own touch to the well-established Patterson Street pizzeria he took over from Enver ‘Eddie’ Shabinay in late May.

It’s another feather in his Tennant Creek cap which, since moving to the town in 2022, has seen him also secure restaurant rights at Memories Bistro at the Memorial Club and at Amos Restaurant at Sporties Club.

Kiran Madani is considering the future of his Monster pizza.

He’d had his sights on Rocky’s Pizza for a couple of years but Eddie wouldn’t sell, so he established Ezra’s Corner Eatery across the road at the Tennant Creek Hotel to create a two-headed tussle for pizza supremacy in the town.

Speaking from Whyalla, where he opened Rocky’s Pizza Whyalla in September 2024, Enver Shabinay wished Kiran luck in re-establishing the business after a hard few years.

Kiran Madani shows off a famous Rocky's Pizza

He said Kiran was free to run the business as he wanted, including slaying the Monster if he chose.

“It was selling slowly anyway,” Enver said.

Kiran first worked as a kitchen-hand in Melbourne pubs after migrating in 2007 and eventually became a cook specialising in breakfasts, then a certified chef through adult education pathways.

“The more I learnt about cooking the more I wanted to learn and I became more hungry about cooking.”

He moved to Darwin in 2015 and worked as sous chef at Oaks Hotel, eventually becoming executive chef.

He also worked at the casino and owned Aria’s Kitchen at Hidden Valley Caravan Park before moving to Tennant Creek as an agency chef.

He plans to make the most of his tenancy at Rocky’s.

“People loved the pizzas at Ezra’s and now I’ve brought them to Rocky’s. People know Rocky’s and I’m keeping the brand. I’m not breaking the chain, I’m keeping it going.”

Originally published as Rocky’s Pizza changes hands and menu gets an update