Never Regular: Heathmont cafe’s anger over bid to create backyard dining area

It’s the quiet Heathmont cafe which even the Prime Minister has had a brew at. But now its owner claims the local council won’t let him trade in his own backyard.

A small Heathmont cafe visited by the Prime Minister earlier this year claims it is being blocked by the local council to operate in its own backyard.

Never Regular’s Sinisa 'Skinny' Misic says Maroondah Council is playing hard ball on his plans for an outdoor dining space at the Great Ryrie St cafe due to fears it will “upset” nearby neighbours.

Mr Misic lodged the plans in March 2020 and said he had invested about $20,000 in designing the area and applying for a liquor license and a building permit.

The cafe is next to a small milk bar with an upstairs residence, which is ‘temporarily closed’ according to its Google listing.

Mr Misic said because of the upstairs residence next door, the council had noise concerns and wanted him to fully enclose the patio, effectively making it another indoor room.

He said they also wanted to him to spend thousands of dollars more on acoustic support before they give it the green light.

“I’m not making a doof club, just a nice quiet space, you can barely hear music here,” Mr Misic said.

“They came back and said I had to close off everything … I draw a line at that.”

“I want this to have a garden outdoors, others (other venues in Heathmont) are doing it, but apparently there’s something wrong with us, I don’t know if its my face or my beard or something I missed in the application.”

Mr Misic said the milk bar’s old owners, traders on the small strip and nearby residents supported his plans when he first submitted them.

“No one has complained, they feel it is in everyone’s interests for them to have a little hub where locals can come, drink and go home without driving,” Mr Misic said.

The cafe opened in 2019 and was visited by Prime Minister Scott Morrison during a whirlwind visit to the region earlier this year.

Mr Misic feared he would have to spend more money pulling down the pergola if a permit wasn’t approved, which would be another blow to the cafe in an already tough climate.

He claimed council officers had also refused to visit the cafe for further discussions.

Maroondah Council has been contacted for comment.