Entrepreneur Van Haandel goes long on Melbourne Longrain
John and Lisa Van Haandel have bought out their Longrain partners, signalling a return to hands-on ownership.
Veteran Melbourne restaurateur John Van Haandel and his wife Lisa have signalled a return to
more hands-on restaurant management with the outright purchase of Longrain, in Little Bourke Street.
Van Haandel, a pioneer of modern restaurants in Melbourne, has bought out his partners Sam
Christie and motorcycle industry identity John Sample.
Christie, a high-profile Sydney restaurateur with a stake in Apollo, Cho Cho San and, soon, a
Tokyo outpost of Apollo, is rationalising his interests.
The original Longrain, in Sydney’s Surry Hills, launched to wide acclaim in the noughties with chef Martin Boetz at the helm, remains under Christie’s stewardship for now. He recently closed his Indian restaurant Subcontinental following a lukewarm critical reception and subsequent
soft-numbers.
Van Haandel told The Australian the first thing he would do would be to “finally” utilise an upstairs space that is part of the Melbourne lease but which has never been invested in. “I’ve been paying rent on it all these years, it’s time to do something with it if we can negotiate the heritage issues,” he said. The restaurant is 10 years old.
“Lisa and I are looking forward to being far more involved.”