Premier says cafe owners not booted out by government over LIV Golf parklands expansion plans

The owner of a riverfront dining institution claimed LIV Golf’s North Adelaide move contributed to its closure — but the premier has teed off in return.

• Cafe forced to shut after lease change

The premier has hit back at claims the state government forced restaurants to shut their doors to make way for LIV Golf’s move to North Adelaide.

Premier Peter Malinauskas dispelled rumblings that a dining institution was forced to shut down as the state government swoops in on the parklands to relocate the famed event.

On Monday, the historic River Cafe and Red Ochre Barrel + Grill, on the River Torrens, closed its doors for good after owner and executive chef Ray Mauger failed to secure a long-term lease with Adelaide City Council.

South Australia's Premier Peter Malinauskas greets spectators after securing the tournament until 2031 during the final day of the LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Mauger said the lease for the site, on War Memorial Drive, was set to be extended for 12 months but a new clause was added at the last minute giving council the “right to evict at one month’s notice”.

Mr Mauger said reports in The Advertiser in March showed a confidential $50m North Adelaide Golf Course masterplan featuring a two-storey clubhouse over the River Torrens – in the current location of his cafe and restaurant.

“It just seems coincidental … it definitely appears to be my building, right on the river,” he said.

However, appearing on FIVEAA’s breakfast radio, Premier Peter Malinauskas said there had been “no request by the state government to the council to do that”.

“This is a lease the council has with those proprietors, I understand the lease was put before them, and there was a lengthy negotiation about those terms – we haven’t been party to that,” he said.

The chipping green at the North Adelaide Golf Course. Picture: Ben Clark

Mr Malinauskas said the state government was in active discussion with the Adelaide City Council around a lease agreement for the golf course, but it wasn’t connected to the nearby restaurants.

“As we speak, there are officials nutting out what a potential lease looks like between the council and the state government around the golf course itself and the clubhouse and everything that sits within the golf course, which is quite separate to those restaurants,” he said.

“If that area becomes available, and the council notifies us of that, then I can’t rule out what happens in the future, but I can, say that there has been nothing from us to the council that says, ‘can you please boot these guys out, because we wouldn’t mind getting our hands on it’ – that just hasn’t happened.”

Premier Peter Malinauskas announced in February that LIV Golf would move from Grange Golf Club – the host since 2023 – to a world-class course, developed by Australia’s greatest golfer Greg Norman, on the site of the current North Adelaide course.

The move from the western suburbs to the parklands was expected by 2028, but could happen as early as 2027, with construction believed to start in June.

Originally published as Premier says cafe owners not booted out by government over LIV Golf parklands expansion plans