The Boathouse eatery at Palm Beach set to reopen under new owners
The future of a popular Sydney waterfront eatery – made famous as the home of Alf’s Bait Shop in Home and Away – has been revealed after it faced the wrecking ball early last year.
Manly
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The Palm Beach jetty – made famous as the wildly-popular location of Alf’s Bait Shop in Home And Away – is being rebuilt to its former glory 18 months after it was razed to the ground.
Hospitality mogul Ben May and Beaches local Rob Domjen, who between them established powerhouse eateries in the Manly Wharf Hotel, Burleigh Pavilion in Queensland and Mrs Sippy, Bali, have reimagined the much-loved site with plans to replace the popular Boathouse cafe and transform the wharf.
The new owners have signed the lease to the eatery on the jetty jutting into Pittwater that will open under the building’s original name — Barrenjoey Boatshed.
The pair are also looking into a starting a high-end motorboat charter business at the jetty for days out on the waterway.
And there may also be paddleboards and “retro” bicycles for hire.
Owners of the deteriorating jetty — a group of local families — that accommodated The Boathouse, a boat hire business and the famous bait shop, had it demolished in February last year.
It was expected that The Boathouse Group, which operates another eight outlets across Sydney and the Central Coast, would take up the cafe lease again.
Mr May, who recently sold the Manly Wharf Hotel for more than $30 million, has confirmed that he, and Mr Domjen, will reopen the cafe after the $7 million jetty rebuild is completed, by the end of the year.
Mr Domjen, who has worked closely with Mr May in senior managerial roles in his hospitality businesses in Queensland and Bali, said the duo were going to bring a fresh look and feel to the cafe.
They were keen to “rebirth” the original “Barrenjoey Boatshed” name given to the original building when it opened in 1947.
And Mr Domjen confirmed he was in talks with Channel 7 about Home And Away continuing to use the jetty for “Summer Bay” location filming.
“The owners wanted to rebuild it and still keep that boatshed charm that suits Pittwater and the surrounding areas,” Mr Domjen said.
“The look and feel of it is not too different, but it’s a little bit bigger here and there and slightly higher than the original building.
“The opportunity presented itself so we couldn’t say ‘no’. It’s such an iconic and beautiful spot. Everyone’s been there at some stage.”
Mr Domjen, whose first hospitality job was at The Boathouse Palm Beach while he was studying at university, said they wanted to keep the classic seaside, seafood dining atmosphere.
“It will have a slightly elevated feel than it had before with the picnic tables and the umbrellas on the jetty.
“The jetty is now bigger than it was before.”
Mr Domjen said they were looking into offering a charter service where clients could rent a motorboat, with its own skipper, to spend the day on Pittwater with a seafood picnic hamper in an Esky.
They were also examining a bicycle and paddleboard hire operation.
“You get to the Barrenjoey Boatshed, you see people out there paddleboarding, there’s people grabbing bikes, there’s people on the beach with a picnic they’ve got from the Boatshed, there’s people having long lunches inside and then you go outside and there’s people jumping in these beautiful boats for a day out on Pittwater.”
“I don’t think this is something that Sydney has nailed yet.
“I think we can do the site justice.”
The Barrenjoey Boatshed cafe is hoping to open in December.
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