‘The Joey’: Up market eatery bounds onto northern beaches’ hospitality scene
An up-market waterside eatery has opened its doors as part of the $7m rebuild of the Barrenjoey Boatshed on the new Palm Beach jetty.
Manly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Manly. Followed categories will be added to My News.
With a vision to “become a premier dining destination” on the northern beaches, a new up-market waterside eatery has opened its doors and is about to start taking dinner bookings.
“The Joey” dining room is part of the $7m revamped Barrenjoey Boatshed on the rebuilt Palm Beach jetty on Pittwater.
It’s the creation of hospitality veteran Rob Domjen and restaurateur and publican Ben May, former owner of the Manly Wharf Hotel.
The Boatshed opened on February 15 atop the new jetty, rebuilt after the original deteriorating structur, used as a backdrop for Alf’s bait shop in the Channel 7 drama series Home and Away, was demolished two years ago.
It used to accommodate the first cafe opened by the Boathouse Group. It was expected that The Boathouse Group, would take up the cafe lease again, but it was not invited to re-lease the site by the jetty’s owners, a group of local families.
Now, Mr Domjen said, he and Mr May were working hard to make the Barrenjoey Boatshed, and The Joey, a prime hospitality venue.
A development application is currently before local planning authorities to allow the order from the menu dining room to open for dinner seven nights a week. The Joey can currently only offer lunches seven days a week and the dinner menu on Friday and Saturday nights.
Mr Domjen said the kiosk on the jetty and in the venue’s front garden offer breakfast and lunch.
“We’d love to do evenings at The Joey. There’s not a whole lot of choice in Palm Beach.”
He said the DA for the opening hours had received about 200 positive submissions from the public and about four objections.
“The whole community is really behind it.
“It’s bit crazy that at 4.30pm on a Sunday we can't serve oysters, a glass of wine or pizza to a family while the kids play on the beach. We’ve got to close the doors.
“We want people to sit on our back deck. It’s pretty Australian, iconic. It’s Palm Beach.
“You go to any other iconic waterfront destination around the world and you can get a bite to eat at night.
“We want to make this place a great addition to Palm Beach and to the community.”
Last year Mr Domjen and Mr May said they may also look into a starting a high-end motorboat charter business at the jetty.
And there may also be paddle boards and “retro” bicycles for hire.
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.
“It will have a slightly elevated feel than it had before with the picnic tables and the umbrellas on the jetty.”
John Hopoate could face jail over latest driving charge
A notorious former NRL player, who police describe as a ‘recidivist traffic offender’, faces the prospect of 12 months’ jail for his latest serious driving charge.
Former Waterhouse family member drove to cop shop while drunk
A former member of a famous Sydney racing dynasty and cancer nurse drove to a police station while drunk after being chucked out of a late-night northern beaches nightspot.