Kirribilli cafe owner Tony Morgan vows to fight North Sydney council after coffee cart fine

A coffee cart in the outdoor dining area of Sydney cafe is at the centre of a dispute that has drawn the involvement of rangers, police, and local politicians.

The long-term business owner has been fined over the coffee cart

A Kirribilli cafe owner has been left fuming after council rangers fined him for operating a coffee cart in his outdoor dining area.

Morgans Cafe owner Tony Morgan is vowing to fight North Sydney Council over a $110 infringement notice he received for breaching the council’s outdoor dining policy by operating the coffee serving station without formal approval.

The long-term cafe owner – who has operated the cart for the last five years – has refused to pay the fine and is now preparing to challenge the infringement in court.

Mr Morgan said the coffee cart had been popular among his customers, particularly during three years of Covid-19 restrictions.

“I had three rangers come to the cafe on a Sunday morning in our peak hour trade and started taking photos and then said we have to move the coffee cart because it was producing food in an outdoor area.

A photo of the coffee cart outside the cafe.

Tony Morgan pictured at the coffee cart

“Three days later they came back and fined me. I’ve never had a single complaint about the cart. All the locals love it and it’s good for the atmosphere of the area and for takeaway for coffee.

“There are other things the council should prioritise rather than coming after small businesses. A coffee cart is the last thing people worry about.”

A North Sydney Council spokeswoman said the business had been given formal warnings about the coffee cart before the fine was issued.

“In relation to the use of coffee carts in public spaces, these are not currently permitted within council policy,” the spokeswoman said.

“The council’s practice in relation to compliance activities is always to provide warnings and instructions in relation to breaches of outdoor dining prior to issuing fines, as has been the case here.”

The coffee cart operates in the outdoor dining area.

Mr Morgan – who also runs Kirribilli’s San Antonio Sourdough bakery – said he would not pay the fine “based on principle.”

“It would be easy to just pay the fine, but my issue is the double standard,” he said.

“Other councils in Sydney are waiving their outdoor dining fees until 2025 to help businesses get back on their feet while in North Sydney we got just seven months.

“I pay $5700 each financial quarter for the outdoor dining area and instead of supporting small businesses, they fine us – that’s the help we get from council.”

The dispute over the fine has been taken up by local politicians with North Sydney councillors supporting a review of current outdoor dining policies to potentially allow small coffee carts in council controlled outdoor dining spaces.

The furore over the fine has also drawn the involvement of police who had to be called to the cafe during one of the council inspections after Mr Morgan told a ranger he would “break his legs” if he returned to inspect the venue.

Mr Morgan claimed he “didn’t mean” the threat, but was concerned over the impact the inspections were having on his staff.

A council spokeswoman confirmed Mr Morgan’s existing compliance matter would be “put on hold” pending the council review of its outdoor dining policy and that “the community will be consulted to gauge their views in relation to the use of public spaces for this purpose.”

The cart is at the centre of a compliance dispute.

Despite the compliance matter being placed on hold, Mr Morgan said he would continue taking steps to challenge the fine with a first court hearing scheduled in March.

North Sydney councillor Jilly Gibson has supported the review of the council’s outdoor dining policy.

“I don’t think the coffee cart has offended anyone, it just takes up his own outdoor dining space which he pays for,” she said.

“With real estate being so expensive in North Sydney our restaurants are working in very limited spaces inside and having a big coffee machine inside can be prohibitive.

“All our small businesses have done it really tough over the last few years but if we want a sense of community we need to have active villages and the only way to have active villages is to have successful businesses.”

Tony Morgan (left), pictured with North Sydney councillor Jilly Gibson (centre) who is backing a review of the council outdoor dining policy.

Councillor Maryann Beregi opposed the council review, saying councillors shouldn’t become involved with the “issuing of fines and penalties”.

“Until the rules are changed, the rules should apply,” she said. “The rules are the rules. It is still a breach.”

The council’s current outdoor dining policy states the objective of the rules was to “ensure that outdoor dining and goods display areas are compatible with the amenity of surrounding predominant land uses especially residential uses in residential zones”.

North Sydney Council’s fees and charges show businesses in Kirribilli currently pay $510 for each square metre of outdoor dining space used each year.

A comparison to the City of Sydney’s fees show the figure is below the $700 businesses have to pay per square metre in Circular Quay, but is higher than fees in Darlinghurst ($340), Pyrmont and Newtown ($250).