Hospitality veterans’ costly mistake in on-trend outdoor dining venture

The veteran hoteliers and event planners behind a trendy new beer garden have made a costly error in their latest hospitality venture, and have gone to court to fix it, a court has heard.

The Doonan opened its $6.5m venue with waiting lists full of people keen to enjoy the experience. Pictured: Rob Comiskey. Photo: Asa Andersen.

The veteran hoteliers and event planners behind a trendy new beer-garden have made a costly error in their latest hospitality venture, and have gone to court to fix it, a court has heard.

The Comiskey Group and music festival promoters Josh Jones and Neville Allen have been forced to make a last-minute application to the Planning and Environment Court in a bid to change the development approval over The Doonan, in the northern Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Town planner Ian Buchanan states in his affidavit filed in the court on May 18, that a key focal point of the outdoor dining area, a “BBQ Pit”, where food was intended to be served out in the open, was now being removed from the plans and replaced.

Mr Buchanan told the court in his 216-page affidavit that although the BBQ Pit had been approved by the court as part of the development approval in 2021, their plans had now changed due to an oversight.

The Doonan on the Sunshine Coast

“It emerged during the course of establishing the new servery area that in order for the applicants to obtain a food business licence to serve food in the servery area, the area would need to be vermin proof, necessitating that walls be constructed within openings that can be closed up,” Mr Buchanan wrote.

“The inclusion of the new servery area requires a range of consequential changes to the conditions of the development approval.”

The owners, who have replicated the luxury outdoor restaurant and bar concept popularised by The Farm Byron Bay, and The Grounds of Alexandria in Sydney, now want to replace the BBQ Pit with a vermin-proof closed servery to the west of the hotel building, which used to trade as the Waldschloss German Restaurant.

The BBQ Pit service point was to be to the north of the hotel building, court documents state.

The new servery is 40 sqm and has already been built, Mr Buchanan states in his affidavit.

The Doonan opened in March and has been popular, with a month-long waiting list for weekends.

It is garden-themed and offers outdoor dining, beer gardens, bars, a pizzeria, ice creamery, cellar door and a kids playground.

On-trend sage green is featured throughout the outdoor areas of The Doonan. Picture: Letea Cavander

In 2006, the Comiskey Group acquired the two-hectare site, with plans to develop the property and pre-existing building which operated as a German restaurant.

Sunshine Coast Regional Council initially refused the application to build The Doonan outdoor dining at the back of the old restaurant but it was approved after it was fought in court.

One of the reasons for refusal was that part of the land is flood-prone.

On 12 November 2021, the court approved the development application for it to be used as a hotel, restaurant with bar and cellar door.

The Comiskey Group also owns the Sandstone Point Hotel, the nation’s largest pub, the Eatons Hill Hotel, which sits on 7500 sqm, the Samford Valley Hotel and the Beachmere Hotel.

Co-owner Josh Jones’ company has hosted events such as country music festival CMC Rocks and Sunset Sounds.

Court documents state that the hotel is limited to 200 people at a time.

The case was filed on May 17 returns to court on June 14.

Robert Comiskey. Picture: John Gass

Speaking outside of court Rob Comiskey told The Courier-Mail that the business had spent almost $1m in legal fees fighting to get the small hotel built, even though residents supported it.

“After five to six compliance visits (by council) during construction and since opening, we wonder if every other development gets this much scrutiny, especially after a court case,” he said.

He said the new servery is a “second kitchen”, and pumps out 2000 pizza’s a week

The hotel had 4500 people waiting for a booking on opening day, and since then it is now booked out almost four months in advance, with people driving from all over southeast Queensland.

Originally published as Hospitality veterans’ costly mistake in on-trend outdoor dining venture