Pasadena: Church Point restaurant plans to offer alcohol without food rejected

A food fight is brewing between a well-known Sydney restaurant and the state’s liquor authority over plans to allow the sale of alcohol to customers without being required to serve food.

Pasadena owner Paul Peterkin at the Church Point restaurant.

A food fight is brewing between a well-known Sydney restaurant and the state’s liquor authority over plans to allow the sale of alcohol to customers without the requirement to also serve plates of food.

Pasadena at Church Point is seeking legal advice over its proposal to make it easier to serve alcohol to its customers, which was refused by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority at a board meeting last month.

The venue wants to change its current licensing conditions which stipulate patrons must buy food if they want to order a beer, wine or other alcoholic drink.

The venue – which has a capacity for up to 400 people – stated the ability to serve alcohol without the requirement of ordering food would provide “flexibility and increased choice” to customers.

Venue owner Paul Peterkin said he had not been provided with documentation stating why the proposal was refused.

A photo of the venue.

“We’re not a pub and don’t have pokies – all we wanted to do was cater for our customers,” he said. “Even police supported it – to be honest the decision is very confusing.

“We still haven’t been given a copy of a report showing why it was rejected so it’s very difficult to comment further until we know the exact reasons why.”

The views from the restaurant.

Documents lodged to ILGA show Northern Beaches Council objected to the venue’s licensing changes – labelling it “excessive” and raising concerns over potential noise impacts, carparking requirements, traffic generation, and the “general amenity impacts” on the area.

Public submissions from residents supported the proposal, including one resident who wrote: “It’s ridiculous that you have to order a full meal in order to have a drink”.

“There are very few nice spaces in Church Point and it’s been a very challenging time for businesses and I think it’s ridiculous that their license requires food with alcohol purchase,” the resident stated.

In a statement, a Liquor and Gaming spokeswoman said ILGA “considers a broad range of factors, including how a change in the primary purpose of the venue may impact the local community.”

The venue is a popular dining spot for residents and visitors.

Plans by the venue state the proposed licencing changes would not have involved any increase to the patron capacity of the restaurant, nor its approved trading hours.

“Rather, it will provide the (venue) with flexibility in its business activities. The focus is and will remain on the provision of genuine meals to the public,” the application stated.

“While liquor service is an important function of the overall business model, it is only ancillary to the primary focus of dining. Liquor service is not and never will be the primary focus.

“(The application) will provide a public benefit by providing increased choice to customers, as a place where customers can feel safe while enjoying good food and a drink.

A photo of the venue.

“There may be some customers who prefer not to partake in a meal, but rather enjoy a drink with friends – this includes circumstances where some of the friends are eating a meal, but others are not participating in that activity.

“Furthermore, it is highly unlikely the (proposal) will draw in any significant number of additional or new customers for drinking-related purposes. The restaurant component of the business is simply not marketed that way.”

Pasadena has a long history on the northern beaches, opened as a roadhouse in 1935 with a post office, petrol station and boat shed.

During World War II it became a training base for Australian troops and was later turned into a motel dubbed the “Grand Dame of Pittwater’’.

Today, the venue has a function centre and accommodation facilities alongside the licensed restaurant – employing 44 people and trading from 10am to midnight