The Cuckoo Restaurant Olinda could reopen under a new owner
It has been closed since Covid hit in 2020, but the doors to a tourist mecca in the hills could soon reopen.
Outer East
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A local buyer is looking to “reinvigorate” Olinda’s The Cuckoo restaurant, with hopes the beloved tourist mecca could soon reopen.
The Dandenong Ranges institution closed in 2020, after more than 60 years of operation.
The German-inspired restaurant, which pioneered the smorgasbord concept in Australia, traded successfully for 62 years until Covid hit.
Manager Andrei Koeppen, whose parents Karin and Willi Koeppen started the restaurant in 1958, said the loss of international tourists, combined with lockdowns and restrictions on buffet dining, made it too hard for the business to survive.
The business has been listed for sale, and local residents recently spotted a sign at the site saying the property was “under offer”.
Fletchers Yarra Ranges director Scott Allison said: “It’s a local buyer looking to reinvigorate the history and iconic Cuckoo Restaurant with respect to the old and the new.”
Andrei Koeppen said the Koeppen family was delighted that The Cuckoo would continue to operate as a hospitality venue.
“The site has been trading for 120 years and has been an iconic tourist attraction in the region,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that Covid restrictions forced the temporary closure of the restaurant.
“We expect that business will eventually return to normal under the new ownership and that the site will continue to provide employment and opportunities for the local community.”
The Cuckoo was originally The Quamby, which started in 1904 as a small tea room on the road to Olinda before Karin and Willi purchased it in 1958.
At the time, Willi was Australia’s most famous ‘Masterchef’ with regular TV and radio shows. While executive chef at a five-star hotel in Melbourne, he met Karin, in a bar on the corner of Elizabeth St and Flinders St.
Karin had travelled to Australia from Germany to work at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
Willi disappeared in 1976 and the case remains an open investigation with the Victoria Police Missing Persons division.
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